Prince William County Schools are implementing new safety screening technology in our schools to protect students and staff. These weapon detectors have just been activated today, Tuesday, Oct 10th. There are three entrances covered with four detectors in total: Door 25 for car riders, Door 38 with two detectors for bus riders, and door 1, the main entrance.  

The Evolv Express systems work by using AI based scanning technology to look for points of condensed metal in shapes that may look like harmful items. After an alert, the staff member operating the system will use the tablet to see where the alerted object is on your person. After a brief search, the operator will press a button on the screen to tell the system what the item is. Doing this helps the AI learn what it should or should not alert to. 

In response to being told they look “ineffective” and “cheap,” Head of Security, Mr. Lockamy said, “They will do what they are intended to do, we expect this protection plan to be a good one.” WSHS Principal Abney, agreed with Mr. Lockamy’s comment saying, “This has been in the planning stage for a while, we are ecstatic about it, we’ve seen what the technology can do and don’t expect it to fail.” 

After being asked about his feelings on the topic, Senior, Donovan Jacques replied with, “I feel somewhat safer with them here. There are many things that they could improve though, such as how fast they are getting students in the building, especially on the colder mornings.”

On the other hand, while some students and staff are happy that the technology is here and are excited to have another layer of protection; Others… don’t think this technology is the greatest addition. 

Many students are skeptical about the supposed effectiveness and everyday efficiency such as Freshman, Paul Ndunguru. “It looks like people can and probably will try to walk around them, they don’t seem that advanced anyways.” Another student walked into class tardy this morning, the first day of activation, claiming, “I’m going to drop out if this garbage causes me to be late every day.”  

Together, we can help get rid of gun violence in schools. In the wake of this epidemic, mental health has become a concern. The school administrative and counseling teams plan to increasingly advertise See Something Say Something. If you see or hear about anything related to someone wanting to hurt themselves or others, please report it to a trusted adult.