Case Study: Dorchester County Public Schools achieves enhanced student safety and faster incident response with Avigilon security solutions

Helping protect students and improving school safety with a holistic security system

Dorchester County Public Schools, serving nearly 5,000 students across 14 schools in Maryland, faced rising safety challenges driven by community issues—ranging from vandalism and vaping to weapon-related incidents—while legacy cameras and poor radio coverage left staff with limited visibility and slow communications. Leadership identified the need for better detection, clearer evidence for investigations, and reliable, instant staff communication to prevent conflicts from escalating.

DCPS deployed an integrated Motorola Solutions and Avigilon system—high‑definition, weatherproof cameras with Avigilon Unity Video and Access plus upgraded MOTOTRBO radios and weapons detection—to improve monitoring, access control and real‑time alerts. The combined solution sped responses, improved investigations and deterrence, and helped cut weapon‑related incidents from 10 (2022–23) to 1 (2023–24), with the district exploring further integrations for broader safety coverage.

Dorchester County Public Schools

Mike Richardson

Director of Safety and Emergency Management