Weapon Detectors To Be Permanent In Fairfax County Schools

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Weapon detectors will become a permanent fixture in Fairfax County schools following a pilot program that launched in the spring, according to a report.

Starting in the fall, weapon detectors will be on every high school campus, school board member Mateo Dunne told WTOP. He said the scanners will also be in middle schools. Installing the technology on every campus is projected to cost the district $6 million.

“We’ve already seen that they’re effective, because they have already caught students bringing weapons, including guns, into our school buildings,” Dunne told WTOP.

Fairfax County Public Schools previously launched a weapon detection pilot program on April 21. During the pilot program, the school system set up 15 Open Gate weapon detection devices at randomly selected high schools or secondary schools.

• RELATED: Weapon Detectors Coming To Some Fairfax County Schools As Pilot Program

At least one school was selected each week to have the devices for morning arrival times, and they would remain there for several days.

According to Fairfax County Public Schools, the detectors are similar to screening devices used at sporting events and concerts. The screening technology can detect weapons such as knives, firearms, handguns, long guns, and materials used to make an explosive device.

Students are required to take out laptops and binders when passing through the screening, FCPS Chief Safety and Security Officer Brian Lambert said. All other items can remain in the student's bag. FCPS says a student declining to pass through the detector would be sent home.

If the detector produces an alert, the student would receive a secondary screening. FCPS said various non-weapon items could cause an alert, including three-ring binders, laptops, eyeglass cases, umbrellas, metal lunchboxes and pencil cases.

Questions about the detectors may be directed to the FCPS Safety and Security Office.

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