More NC school districts to use weapons detectors this school year. Are districts seeing results?

NASHVILLE, NC. (WNCN) — A blinking red light and a beep could be what prevents a gun or another weapon from making it into a school.

This school year, more North Carolina students will start their day walking through weapons detection systems like Evolv or OPENGATE, which use artificial intelligence. At least seven districts in the central area use the systems.

This is the second year Nash County Public Schools middle and high schools will use Evolv. Nash Central Middle School Principal Craig Tedford said the system is not a single solution, but in addition to other security measures. “It just ensures we are doing everything we can to make sure students in our care and staff in our building are safe,” he said.

When the system detects something potentially harmful on a student, a box pops up where it’s located. Laptops are one of the common harmless items that do set off the system, so students walk with their laptops out in front of them. If a box pop ups somewhere else on their body, administrators know to search them. Staff look through backpacks off to the side.

Last school year, Evolv detected a gun inside a student’s bag at Rocky Mount High School . Tedford said there were no major incidents at his school. When asked if he believes this is due to students following the rules or Evolv playing a factor, the principal said, “I believe that students generally are doing the right things. I just think we have to be cautious and be sure that we’re prepared if in the event someone decides to not make a great decision.”

District Public Information Officer Heather Louise Finch said Nash County Public Schools is using federal grant money to cover the $1.6 million four year cost of Evolv. In order for the district to determine if the investment is worth it, Finch said, “Evolv machine or metal detector is just one layer of a solution and a type of safety process. We really are big on establishing mentorship and relationships with our students to make them feel comfortable to say something if they see something.”

At least two districts in central North Carolina will use weapons detectors for the first time this year. Cumberland County Schools will phase in the system at all 84 campuses this year, spending over $3 million on the technology .

Wilson County Schools will use weapons detectors at its three traditional high schools for the first time this year. Previously, metal detectors were used for various high school events, according to a district spokesperson. The spokesperson said the district is using a $400,000 grant from the North Carolina Center for Safer Schools to cover most of the cost, which is $94,000 for OPENGATE and $390,000 for Evolv.

The North Carolina districts regularly using weapons detectors include:

• Person County
• Nash County
• Edgecombe County
• Harnett County
• Johnston County
• Wilson County
• Cumberland County

Districts that use metal detectors include Lee County (at high schools daily and middle schools as needed) and Vance County (at every school).

Granville County Schools does unannounced weekly magnetometer screenings at every school, according to a district spokesperson. Several districts who do not use weapons detectors daily do use metal detectors and wands as needed, like at athletic events.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is the largest district in the state to use weapons detectors, paying more than $14 million for a four-year subscription. The district saw a decrease in both guns and weapons on campus from its first to second year with Evolv. The number of guns found at schools in the district went from 29 to 6 from the 2021-22 to 2022-23 school year, according to data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The number of weapons went from 421 to 281 during that time frame.

A spokesperson for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools said for privacy and security reasons, they can’t say whether Evolv detected each of those weapons.

The state’s largest district, Wake County, does not use weapons detectors in schools.

At a meeting this month, CBS 17 asked School Board Chair Chris Heagarty if there are any conversations right now in the district about perhaps bringing in weapons detectors and what the pros and cons would be.

“One of my biggest frustrations as a member of the board, but it’s an important responsibility, is that the work that we do, there’s work that we do that keeps children safe, that we can’t talk publicly about,” Heagarty said. “We have security enhancements, we have counter measures in our schools that we do not want bad actors to know about.”

In that meeting, district administrators did speak about potential future security measures like a real time security center .

Statewide, almost 200 guns were reported at North Carolina schools in the 2022-23 school year, which is the most recent data available from the NC DPI. That’s up 23% from the year before. 3,171 other types of weapons were found on campuses across the state in the 2022-23 school year, down about 3.5% from the year before, according to the data. NC DPI does not track which districts use weapons detections systems.

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