Weapons Detectors In Jefferson Co. Public Schools
- Posted in:
- Louisville
- JCPS
As Louisville continues to struggle with the proliferation of guns in the community, Jefferson County Public Schools is moving forward with a plan to spend more than $17 million in an effort to keep those guns out of its schools.
Weapon detectors, which use artificial intelligence to scan large crowds for certain weapons, will be installed at half of the district's high schools this fall, followed by the remaining high schools in spring then all middle schools by the start of the 2024-2025 school year.
JCPS board members approved starting the purchasing process of the equipment during a special called meeting Tuesday night. The vote was 5-2, with District 2's Chris Kolb and District 4's Joe Marshall voting against the measure.
The JCPS Board Decision Process
JCPS Chief of Staff Katy Deferrari told the board the scanners would pick up on guns and small explosives, but not small pocket knives. Like any security measure, there will be limitations, she said, but the perks of these scanners versus metal detectors include efficiency and eliminating human bias that often leads to more physical searches for students of color. "We don't want to be invasive or search things that don't need to be searched," Deferrari said, adding that the weapon detection technology "is an objective screening process."
The video shows the JCPS Board meeting during which the public could comment on the Evolv Weapons Detection System. The video is set to start when Lindsey Sheldon begins to speak. Most guests spoke against it.
In the below video security expert Dr. Ken Trump explains the shortfalls of weapons detection systems in schools.
