This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
This article was written by WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
Entering Prince William County’s middle and high schools will look different for most of the upcoming school year, as the school division is readying students, staff and parents for the rollout of its new weapons detection systems.
The Evolv Express security lanes will be installed on a rolling basis at each of the county’s middle and high schools the third week of the new school year. The lanes will cover three points of entry at high schools and two at middle schools.
“We’re doing this because safety and security are our top priority for the students, teachers and staff,” School Board Chair Babur Lateef told InsideNoVa. “This is another layer of security added to multiple layers of security we already do.”
Schools are going to open their doors 30 minutes earlier than usual, and staff tasked with monitoring the systems will be in place 45 minutes before bell times.
Meanwhile, families are being warned that they may want to rethink certain school supplies. According to a post on the division’s website, clear and plastic school supplies are recommended. Metal supplies like eyeglass cases, water or coffee bottles and metal-ringed binders could trigger the system depending on the sensitivity settings used.
“Sensitivity settings will be decided through a collaborative process between PWCS and Evolv, with careful consideration of the division’s specific needs and requirements to ensure an optimal balance between maintaining security and minimizing false alerts,” a statement on the school system’s reads.
The division’s four-year, $10.7 million lease agreement for the security lanes were approved by the School Board in the spring after an increase in recovered weapons on school grounds in the years following the pandemic. In Charlotte, N.C., the systems have been credited with drastically reducing the number of weapons found in school, but the systems’ ability to effectively detect knives has come under some scrutiny.
According to Evolv, the company uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect weapons, even when students pass through in groups and without opening their backpacks. As a result, the company says, about 2,500 people can move through the lanes securely in about 15 minutes.
“We’ve had an increase of weapon carrying to school for the last … two years since the pandemic, and there has been an increase in the ones we’ve found, both guns and knives. And what’s concerning is what are the weapons we don’t find? What gets through?” Lateef said. “So we’re hoping this system helps us both detect the weapons that are being brought in and, really even more importantly, deter people from bringing them in. These are really weapons deterrent systems.”
Designated staff will receive specific training and stipends for manning the system. If a prohibited item is detected, operators will take the student to a security table to conduct a “secondary screening,” according to the division. “Secondary screenings are an additional level of screening involving a more detailed inspection of an individual or their belongings and may include using a handheld device or a physical pat-down to detect prohibited items.”
Anyone entering the schools during academic hours – including staff – will be subject to the screening, the division’s FAQ states. Each middle and high school will also receive one security lane for outdoor use.
“We’re not doing it all at once because we recognize that there’s going to be some logistical challenges in getting everyone used to the system,” Lateef said.
