School Weapons Detectors: What Are Schools Really Screening For? The Kalamazoo Gun Incident Raises Questions About Sensitivity Settings and Transparency
When schools tell parents they have weapons detection systems, are they explaining what those systems are actually configured to detect, and what they may miss? A loaded handgun brought into Kalamazoo Central High School in Michigan on October 16, 2026, has generated conflicting accounts, public frustration, and questions about the effectiveness of the school’s weapons […]
Are leaders of schools with artificial intelligence (AI) weapons detection systems in over their heads? The students entering their buildings certainly are…
The Indianapolis Star ran a story last week on some school districts betting on artificial intelligence (AI) weapons detection systems as the future of school security. I spoke with the reporter at length when she was working on the story, and she captured my concerns in her story about fidelity of implementation issues and the […]
Gardena School Shooting: Security Policy Disconnects Create Safety, Credibility Risks
Failure to follow security procedures and to communicate with parents can easily lead to a post-crisis crisis for school leaders. Two students were wounded at Gardena High School on Tuesday after a gun in a 10th grader’s backpack discharged in a classroom, striking a 15-year-old girl in the head and a 15-year-old male in the […]
Lag in Wisconsin school hostage response raises questions
How does a student hold two dozen people hostage in a high school classroom with knives, two guns, and more than 200 rounds of ammo for about two hours without someone noticing? Students and others asked similar questions after a student took 23 students and his teacher hostage in Marinette, Wisconsin, last week. Hostages were released, […]
School Security Versus the CSI Effect & TSA Effect
Surveillance cameras and metal detectors are used to varying extents in a number of our nation’s school districts. Cameras are in place in many urban, suburban, and rural districts. Metal detectors tend to be used regularly in a smaller number of districts, often larger districts with a chronic history of weapons incidents. Parents, the media, […]
Finding a Gun In a School Is Good News
Educators, parents, and the media often look upon a gun or drug confiscation in a school as bad news and a negative mark on a school’s reputation. In fact many historically believed, and some still believe, the presence of a police car parked outside of a school implies an out-of-control school and an incompetent principal exists […]