Learn the top weapon detection technologies for school safety, their pros and cons, and how to test and integrate them effectively.
A recent school shooting in the U.S. leaving three dead again raises the issue of school campus safety and security. To properly secure schools against active shooters, weapon detection becomes vital. This article looks at some of the weapon detection technologies in use today and ways to evaluate them, based on a
whitepaper by the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS).
The growing threat of gun violence in schools
School violence is an issue seen in various parts of the world. This is especially the case in the U.S., where
in 2022 alone 34 students and adults died while more than 43,000 children were exposed to gunfire at schools. Most recently, on August 27, a gunman opened fire at a Catholic School in the US city of Minneapolis during morning mass, leaving two students dead before the gunman took her own life. Multiple students were injured.
Types of weapon detection technologies
These incidents underscore the importance of weapon detection in school campus safety and security. Weapon detection technologies find out if someone might be carrying a weapon. According to the PASS whitepaper, “What Is Weapons Detection,” weapon detection technologies in use today, and their advantages and disadvantages in school settings, include the following:
Physical weapons detection: Physical weapon detection mostly comes in the form of metal detectors, which are often used for primary screening in schools. Handheld wands may be used for secondary checks. Benefits of metal detectors include high throughput, where students can pass through quickly without forming long lines. Disadvantages include false positives from non-harmful items, such as laptops, and limitations in detecting non-metal threats.
Brandished weapons detection: This is the type of detection that uses video analytics and AI to identify exposed weapons via security cameras. Advantages include rapid detection without physical screening. Limitations include the inability to detect concealed weapons. Image quality may also suffer without proper camera placement, lighting and resolution.
Gunshot detection: Gunshot detection uses acoustics and analytics to confirm gunfire and the location of shots. Gunshot detection is generally reliable with few false positives. The drawback is it only works after a gun is fired.
X-ray Detection: X-ray detection works by way of passing an X-ray through a bag or container; the system then measures how the ray has been absorbed by different items in the container. It’s common in airports for detecting bombs and weapons but less practical for daily school use.
How to test and evaluate weapon detection systems
The testing and evaluation of weapon detection systems are critical to successful implementation. According to the whitepaper, when evaluating these technologies, some important testing methodologies should be adopted. These are summarized as follows.
For physical weapons detection systems, testing with real firearms is the preferred way as long as the testing is conducted utilizing the appropriate safety precautions and ideally with a law enforcement officer present. It’s also ideal to test the orientation and placement of the weapon in different ways. Where the weapon is on a person’s body and which way the weapon is pointing are important factors when testing a system.
For brandished weapons detection systems, the preferred method is using replicas that mimic the firearms often used in gun violence. These can include airsoft weapons and other types of replicas that have the look and shape of actual firearms. It’s also important to test in various locations and distances from the cameras to determine the effectiveness of the detection system.
Testing for nuisance alarm items – those that frequently cause a physical weapons detection system to provide an alert – is also critical. “Common nuisance alarm items can include laptops, umbrellas, telescoping handles on rolling bags, hard eyeglass cases, and tin crayon/pencil cases. Testing is beneficial to better understand the process and personnel that will be required to operate the systems effectively. This will help establish additional needs, such as bag checks, using handheld wands for additional screening, or other concepts to prevent nuisance alarm items from passing through the detection system,” the paper said.
Unifying weapon detection with other security systems
Lastly, unifying weapons detection with schools’ other security systems, such as video surveillance and access control, is also important in campus security and safety.
“Unified systems address the difficulties of integrating technologies across different platforms and within the connected environment in which they reside. Properly implemented, a unified system eases integration of new components and allows a district to continue to evolve and expand,” the paper said. “It is important for a school district to work with its integrator to ensure facility infrastructure can support any new technology as part of a unified system.”