Starting next week, Orange County Public Schools will begin testing a new high-tech weapons detection system at one of its high schools.”For our kids to learn, they can’t be worried about a gun being in their school,” OCPS District Chief of Police Bryan Holmes said in an exclusive interview with WESH 2. “For our teachers to teach, they can’t be afraid that a student in their classroom has a gun in their backpack. For our administrators to do their job, they need to be focused on running the school, not just worrying about providing safety and security.”The walk-through detectors for students and the conveyor belt for their bags in the 30-day pilot program at Timber Creek High School are made by Evolv Technology. “We’re implementing screening solutions such as X-ray in school districts and things like that,” Evolv Technology account manager Chase Connolly said. “We operate at a much faster pace. We make it a lot easier for the operator to actually use the system.”The X-ray machine utilizes artificial intelligence to find guns or knives and pinpoint their location in bags. “So, we’re reducing false alarm rate,” Connolly said. “Making sure that we’re keeping everything where it needs to. Stuff stays inside bags. If a threat is found in a bag, the system is going to tell you that.”OCPS district leaders decided not to expand its weapons detection pilot program from the 2023-24 school year. Superintendent Maria Vazquez said the price tag was a factor. Chief Holmes explained that the less-advanced metal detectors also led to long lines from secondary bag searches. “Umbrellas, Stanley Cups and a whole host of other items, three-ring binders, would actually create a situation,” Holmes said. “We had to do a secondary search, as you might imagine. Students, you know, they are willing to go through that, but it can be embarrassing, and they just don’t, you know, it’s unnecessary when it doesn’t happen to be a weapon.”In addition to school resource officers on every campus, security cameras, and randomized screenings with detection K9s, Chief Holmes said the weapons detection machines would provide another layer of protection for students, teachers and district staff. “Yeah, technology is not cheap, but it’s an investment,” Holmes said. “So, you know, that’s up to the board, whether they make that investment or not, and of course, the superintendent, but we’ll see how the pilot actually goes.”OCPS spent $475,000 on trying out the metal detectors two years ago. This new pilot program is free of charge.
Starting next week, Orange County Public Schools will begin testing a new high-tech weapons detection system at one of its high schools.
“For our kids to learn, they can’t be worried about a gun being in their school,” OCPS District Chief of Police Bryan Holmes said in an exclusive interview with WESH 2. “For our teachers to teach, they can’t be afraid that a student in their classroom has a gun in their backpack. For our administrators to do their job, they need to be focused on running the school, not just worrying about providing safety and security.”
The walk-through detectors for students and the conveyor belt for their bags in the 30-day pilot program at Timber Creek High School are made by Evolv Technology.
“We’re implementing screening solutions such as X-ray in school districts and things like that,” Evolv Technology account manager Chase Connolly said. “We operate at a much faster pace. We make it a lot easier for the operator to actually use the system.”
The X-ray machine utilizes artificial intelligence to find guns or knives and pinpoint their location in bags.
“So, we’re reducing false alarm rate,” Connolly said. “Making sure that we’re keeping everything where it needs to. Stuff stays inside bags. If a threat is found in a bag, the system is going to tell you that.”
OCPS district leaders decided not to expand its weapons detection pilot program from the 2023-24 school year.
Superintendent Maria Vazquez said the price tag was a factor.
Chief Holmes explained that the less-advanced metal detectors also led to long lines from secondary bag searches.
“Umbrellas, Stanley Cups and a whole host of other items, three-ring binders, would actually create a situation,” Holmes said. “We had to do a secondary search, as you might imagine. Students, you know, they are willing to go through that, but it can be embarrassing, and they just don’t, you know, it’s unnecessary when it doesn’t happen to be a weapon.”
In addition to school resource officers on every campus, security cameras, and randomized screenings with detection K9s, Chief Holmes said the weapons detection machines would provide another layer of protection for students, teachers and district staff.
“Yeah, technology is not cheap, but it’s an investment,” Holmes said. “So, you know, that’s up to the board, whether they make that investment or not, and of course, the superintendent, but we’ll see how the pilot actually goes.”
OCPS spent $475,000 on trying out the metal detectors two years ago.
This new pilot program is free of charge.
