Executive Summary
- Launch Date: The project is scheduled to go live in mid-February 2026 following development that began in August 2024.
- Scope of Coverage: The initiative covers 45 campuses, including public schools and private institutions throughout Alamance County.
- Interagency Focus: Protocols will be shared with local, state, federal, and neighboring agencies to ensure a unified response.
- Operational Goals: The plan aims to provide critical location data to responding officers to minimize confusion during active shooter events.
The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office has announced the implementation of the Unified Law Enforcement School Safety Project, a comprehensive strategy aimed at standardizing emergency responses to active shooter incidents across educational institutions in the region. Scheduled to become fully operational by mid-February 2026, the initiative covers 45 campuses, including the Alamance-Burlington School System and various private institutions.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the project is the result of a planning phase that began in August 2024. Personnel reviewed existing protocols to develop a streamlined, three-phase process focused on preparation, coordination, and real-time execution. The program is designed to provide School Resource Officers (SROs) and responding units with critical location data and access information, ensuring that officers can act effectively even if they are unfamiliar with the specific layout of a school campus.
Sheriff’s officials indicated that the protocols will be distributed to all local, state, and federal agencies that might respond to a major emergency in the area. Additionally, neighboring county sheriff’s offices are set to receive the program details to enhance regional preparedness and interagency cooperation. Future updates to the initiative are planned to integrate Emergency Medical Services and fire departments, aiming to improve casualty care and victim support coordination.
Sheriff Terry Johnson emphasized the strategic importance of the plan in a public statement. “Through preparation, coordination, and a unified response, this initiative will make a measurable impact on school safety,” Johnson said, noting that protecting the county’s children remains the agency’s highest priority. The office also acknowledged the collaboration of municipal police departments and Alamance Community College in developing the program.
Strategic Operations Outlook
The deployment of the Unified Law Enforcement School Safety Project marks a significant operational pivot from site-specific safety plans to a standardized, countywide interoperability framework. By pre-packaging critical intelligence and access protocols for responding agencies—including those from outside the immediate jurisdiction—law enforcement leadership is addressing a common logistical failure point in mass casualty responses: the delay caused by lack of familiarity with the venue. This initiative suggests a broader trend in public safety strategy where rapid, unified command capability is prioritized to minimize the time gap between threat identification and neutralization.
