Prince William Co. schools consider new security screening system, hold community meetings
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. (7News) — As Prince William County Public Schools consider installing new security screening technology, the school system is holding a series of community meetings to get feedback from families.
The 'Safety and Security Briefings' begin Wednesday night at Gainesville High School:
- February 22 - Gainesville High School (13150 University Blvd, Gainesville, VA 20155)
- February 27 - Freedom High School (15201 Neabsco Mills Rd, Woodbridge, VA 22191)
- February 28 - Woodbridge High School (3001 Old Bridge Rd, Woodbridge, VA 22192)
- March 2 - Zoom Webinar (To register click here.)
"Keeping our students and employees and visitors safe is our top priority," said Vernon Bock, Chief Operating Officer for Prince William County Public Schools.
Bock says that's why the school system is constantly evaluating its safety measures, and why they're now considering a new security screening system made by a company called Evolv Technology. The system uses touchless sensors and software that's designed to detect weapons in a way that's both non-intrusive and high volume. According to Evolv, the system can scan over 60 people a minute.
"This is used at a lot of professional sporting venues that have 30,000 to 50,000 people coming in," Bock explained. "It's really focused on detecting guns and large knives. It's a little different than your traditional metal detector, where it will avoid alerting on traditional items like your cell phone, your keys, a belt buckle, a necklace, a watch. You don't have to remove any of those items."
Instead, he says the system allows students and staff to walking through the sensors without opening their bags or removing their phones from their pockets.
You can view an Evolv video about the system here.
"When you see it implemented, kids are just filing through, you don't have to be single file, you can come through in a group," Bock said. "The technology is really sophisticated from that standpoint, and it really is minimally invasive."
RELATED: Manassas City Public Schools to deploy new security screening technology at Osbourn HS
As 7News has reported, nearby Manassas City Public Schools is already planning to implement this same security screening technology at Osbourn High School, and Osbourn will be the first school in Virginia to use it. Alexandria City Public Schools is eyeing the system as well, with the Alexandria school board expected to decide in March whether ACPS will move forward with a pilot program.
SEE ALSO: Alexandria City Public Schools debates installing screening technology to detect weapons
But Prince William County Public Schools, as the second largest school system in Virginia, would be a more large-scale operation. Bock said it would cost PWCS about $10 million to install the security screening technology at all 34 of its secondary schools, with three entry points at each high school and two at each middle school.
"If one gun makes it into our schools, that's one gun too many," he said. "It's a worthwhile investment in safety."
Bock said PWCS began looking into this technology in the fall. That's when school system leaders traveled to North Carolina, where the Evolv system is currently in place in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Bock said they wanted to see the technology in action in a large school system.
"In Charlotte, we saw this in a high school of about 2,500 students, and the students were able to get in the building in about 15 minutes at three entry points, or three of the Evolv system" he said. "We also conducted an observation at one of their middle schools, that had two entry points. And about 1,300 students went through and again, same timeframe, about 15 minutes to enter."
PWCS Superintendent Dr. LaTanya McDade wrote about the security screening technology in two recent letters to families, in January and again on February 3.
In her January 13 letter, McDade wrote in part "recent advances in security screening technology allow for non-evasive detection and accommodate a high volume of staff and students", calling the technology a preventative measure that is "a critical step toward protection".
McDade said the new technology could be implemented in Prince William County Public Schools "as early as the 2023-2024 school year", and said the school system would begin engaging families and community members to gather input on the possibility.
In her February 3 letter, McDade announced dates and times for a series of community meetings on the topic.
"It's really important for us to gather that community feedback, get that input from the community," Bock said. "And if all goes as planned, we would look at implementing this in the fall."
Even then, Bock said, the security screening technology would be phased in a few schools at a time. And to allow time for training and for students to get used to the new system, he said PWCS likely wouldn't begin that implementation until a few weeks after the first day of school in the fall.
"One of the things we learned from Charlotte is not to try this in all secondary schools all at once," he said. "Get it implemented in a few locations and then start expanding out from there."
