LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) superintendent proposed implementing a new weapons detection system, WHAS11 reached out to a Florida school that already uses the technology.
JCPS said it visited Duvall County Public Schools to learn more about Evolv Technology.
Duvall County Public Schools Chief of Police Greg Burton said they studied the Evolv detection system for about a year, and it was first installed in January of 2023.
Evolv Technology is an artificial intelligence-based touchless body scanner.
Unlike metal detectors, they allow people to go through without taking off their items. The technology instead pinpoints where a weapon is located and that item would show up on a tablet.
Burton said about eight high schools currently have the body scanners and by the end of May, he said all 18 high schools in the district will have them.
He said the Florida school district became more invested in security after a 2018 mass shooting that killed 14 students and three adults.
“It was sort of like a natural progression of us evolving in our security hardening,” Burton said.
He said before Evolv was first installed, they relied on a less stringent method.
“We've had at least seven guns this school year,” Burton said. “Those guns were detected by one thing - students seeing something and saying something to administrators.”
Since it was installed, Burton said no guns have been detected, but they did find one knife.
A recent investigation from our sister station in Charlotte and Columbus revealed that Evolv Technology failed to detect about four out of every 10 knives based on 2021 data.
Burton said setting the scanners to a lower frequency is the best way to detect knives. However, that has led to false positives; he said the machines have picked up on thermoses and umbrellas.
Burton said overall it's worth it.
“We had to really evaluate what is our greatest risk of there being violence with multiple casualties in our school system, and it's through guns,” he said. “It does an excellent job at detecting guns.”
At a JCPS board meeting Tuesday, the potential flaws were acknowledged. But, not just with Evolv, but making sure staff remain vigilant throughout the school day.
“They are not a guarantee weapons will not be in our building,” JCPS Chief of Staff Katy DeFerrari said. “We know there are other ways guns can come into the schools - that's other entrances and exits throughout the school day."
Staffing concerns are an issue that JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio acknowledges in his plan, saying the availability of staff and needing extra staff for the rollout are two of the potential challenges.
While there's no guarantee of weapon-free schools, Burton said the system has been a great deterrent and blocking off certain exits after all students enter the building has helped as well.
Pollio said the estimated cost for a five-year leasing option that includes the equipment, software and one-time installation is $17 million.
A final meeting to approve the plan will be held May 9.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.