The U.S. Surgeon General issued a landmark advisory declaring gun violence a public health crisis in this country. Emphasizing that it has become the leading cause of death among kids and teens, he called for preventive steps and regulatory measures to turn the tide on this growing trend. And what better place to start than the schools that have the enormous responsibility of keeping our nation’s children safe a minimum of 10 months a year, 5 days a week, and 8 hours a day, not to mention after school events and activities. With 2023 breaking the record with 346 school shootings – the most in over four decades – the need for better training and security is also at an all-time high.
Protecting our schools is no easy feat for a variety of reasons, but the top three include:
- Large unsecured outdoor playgrounds, fields, parking lots, common areas.
- Students coming and going into school every day with backpacks and clothing that may or may not have a weapon inside them.
- Large expansive buildings with open indoor meeting spaces, long hallways, wings, and stairwells.
Layered Approach is the Key
School security, for many, likely first started with simply locking the front door, and eventually a few side doors as well. But as gun violence has grown over the decades, better training and more strategies, processes and technologies have been added to create a “layered approach” that offers multi-faceted protection. This also allows for schools to select only the layers they need because every campus and school building is different and what may work well for one, is not useful for another.
Let’s look at what a layered approach might look like for a school:
- It all starts with training. Don’t ignore training, communications, awareness, and other human factors to keep schools safe.
- Train staff to be aware of their surroundings, recognize when things are out of the ordinary, and respond when they notice something.
- Onsite security officers who patrol the campus and are visible and accessible during school hours and events.
- Surveillance cameras both inside and outside the school.
- Perimeter fences to block access to the public coming onto the outdoor areas.
- Metal detectors at main entrances scanning backpacks, bags and people for weapons.
- Shatterproof windows to protect classrooms from bullets fired from outside into the school.
- AI visual gun detection technology that can identify a weapon before shots are fired.
- And finally, a school safety director that manages all the above and is chartered with keeping the school safe. We recently wrote a blog about the importance of this role.
AI Visual Gun Detection: One of the Most Effective Layers a School Can Implement
Omnilert’s powerful AI platform can be integrated with existing cameras throughout a campus to provide 24/7 monitoring of weapons. In just a fraction of a second, the system can visually detect a weapon and once verified, can activate a response that could include dispatching police, locking doors, sounding alarms, and automating other responses to notify those in harm’s way, saving lives. Districts have the option to deploy the technology on traditional rack-mounted servers or leverage the Omnilert Gun Detect Appliance that integrates all the hardware, AI software, monitoring services, off-the-shelf integrations and direct connection to 911 dispatch in one easy-to-deploy system. This one compact appliance not only replaces large, complex and costly server equipment, but is also easy to install and maintain whether an organization wants to monitor 10 cameras or 10,000.
Look at the Baltimore County Public School District (BCPSD) that is integrated Omnilert Gun Detect with 7,500+ existing cameras, representing one of the largest deployments of AI visual gun detection technology in the country. BCPSD already had the cameras in place (this is another layer of security) and now they can transform those devices into always-on monitors for brandished weapons. This is a huge leap in school security because these cameras were previously used for viewing footage after something happened, so they had no preventative capabilities. Not only is it impossible for a human monitor (or even a team of security personnel) to watch this many cameras at the same time, but it’s also been proven that human monitoring is less than effective. With Omnilert Gun Detect, every camera can be monitored simultaneously every second of the day so there is non-stop coverage. Not to mention, the system never gets tired or distracted which could easily cause a threat to be missed.
What’s Your School’s Plan?
While no school can predict an incident of gun violence on their campus, every school can absolutely be prepared to handle these threats quickly and effectively. If you oversee school safety and you are reading this article, you likely already have some layers in place. Are they enough? Do they work for your school’s needs? Have you looked into AI visual gun detection? There is no one size fits all solution, but when layers of security are utilized together, it can deliver the strongest protection for our students and staff. With this type of approach, we have the opportunity to eradicate another public health crisis.
Contact Omnilert today to learn how visual gun detection can protect your exteriors and turn your passive camera systems into a preventive, early warning system.