Law enforcement officers, first responders, and several local school administrations on Tuesday had the opportunity to learn about one of the newest safety and security innovations – The Brown Box – presented by Joe Abrahms, ACS trainer, security specialist and executive director of the Alliance for Community Solutions.
Levelland-Hockley County Emergency Management coordinator Cole Kirkland set up the presentation at the Levelland Civic Center and arranged with schools, DPS, LPD and the Sheriff’s Office to attend and learn about the latest safety option and first line strategy to respond to potential live shooter incidents.
According to Abrahms, The Brown Box is a electronically monitored emergency response unit for schools created by Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown in Texas, whose goal is to place one in every school in Texas, as well as anywhere it could make difference.
It is designed to be placed at school entrances to give responding law enforcement officers immediate access to critical lifesaving equipment In interviews, Sheriff Brown said the idea came to him after returning from the tragedy at Robb Elementary and thinking how immediate access, live information, and the right tools might have changed the response.
Abrahms said The Brown Box is a smart law enforcement tool designed to provide critical information, access, and the equipment needed when seconds matter most. When activated by a teacher, school staff member, or dispatch center, it can give all officers access to school doors using their police identification and allow dispatch to view live school video, helping responders understand the situation, improve on response times and eliminate delays during active shooter situations.
The Brown Box has emergency storage for tactical and lifesaving gear like ballistic shields, door-breaching tools, long guns, master keys and Stop the Bleed kits.
It can be activated by school staff or dispatch during an emergency, and lets any active, commissioned peace officer unlock designated doors and access the box by swiping their law enforcement ID. It requires two physical master keys; if either key is removed from its assigned slot, the system will not reset until both are returned.
The unique tool was developed alongside the nonprofit Alliance for Community Solutions (ACS), an organization based in Kansas dedicated to building collaborative environments for communities to enhance public safety, welfare, and emergency management resilience. It advocates for cost-effective, sustainable interagency solutions and develops practical safety and emergency management tools like regional notification systems and municipal panic-button integrations.
Each unit has a cost of around $35,000. To secure funding for The Brown Box, schools and communities typically look to specialized school safety and community security grants.
As of March 2026,, four prototypes of The Brown Box had been built. At least two companies – one based in Dallas and the other in Houston – were pursuing the rights to build and sell it commercially, But because the creators’s stated preference is to leverage federal grant money and donations to distribute the units, navigating public safety funding channels is the most effective approach.
Because The Brown Box is integrated with local police access controls and requires strict law enforcement authorization, local school districts and police departments should coordinate directly with ACS or local sheriff offices to apply for joint regional safety grants. Community foundations, corporate sponsorships, and municipal mini grants often step in to bridge funding gaps for local youth and school safety programs faster than federal cycles permit.
The federal government provides substantial annual funding specifically dedicated to school security infrastructure.
COPS SVPP (School Violence Prevention Program) is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice, and awards grants directly to states, units of local government, and Indian tribes. Funding can be used for coordination with local law enforcement and for installing technology and hardware designed to improve security.
BJA STOP School Violence Grant Program is another that is offered through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, this program funds projects that help stop school violence by providing students and teachers with the tools they need to recognize and respond to threats, alongside physical security enhancements.
State agencies often manage federal passthrough funds or allocate dedicated state budget money for campus security. State Education Agencies (SEAs), such as the Texas Education Agency (TEA), regularly manage school safety allotments and emergency technology grants via their eGrants online system.
Additionally, the Governor’s Criminal Justice Divisions maintains a criminal justice or public safety office that issue grants to local law enforcement agencies to purchase specialized equipment and tactical tools.