Johnston County Public Schools installing 'Total Recall'-style weapons detection systems

School security is top of minds for most parents these days, especially with the recent surge in threats of violence that have disrupted classrooms across central North Carolina.

Johnston County Public Schools hopes new technology will put the minds of their teachers, students and parents at ease. The free-flowing scanner can alert school leaders to suspicious objects in clothing and backpacks without the hassle of standard metal detectors.

"The Evolv Technology is a weapons detector, not a metal detector," said Evolv co-founder Anil Chitkara.

The company combines radio frequency sensors with artificial intelligence to screen about 1 million people a day at more than 200 schools, churches and sports complexes across the country.

Chitkara said his product is much more advanced than metal detectors.

"That AI algorithm is trained on thousands and thousands of different items, different weapons, different guns and also, different personal items, phones, keys and other things," Chitkara said.

The scanner brings back memories from the futuristic scene from the movie "Total Recall." This technology is similar, detecting 100,000 guns and other weapons since 2019 without the X-Ray.

"If I come through the system and the system alerts and I might have a weapon on my right hip," Chitkara said, "The operator sees a little light, and then they see a picture of me and a red box on my right hip, so it knows it’s that individual and that location that I need to ensure there is no weapon or there is a weapon."

That selling point caught the eye of the Johnston County Public Schools. The district is investing $6 million to put Evolv in all 48 schools.

"We’re going to be able to have a high level of safety and security, but also not slowdown and bog down our everyday routine," said Johnston County Schools spokesperson Caitlin Furr.

While Evolv will track all students and visitors coming through the main doors, another system called OpenGate will be placed at secondary doors. That system is portable, Furr said.

"So, if we know we have large groups of people coming in, say a convocation or something like that, we can use this technology in multiple places," Furr said.

A total of $9 million in upgrades include security resource officers in every school and door alarms. Johnston County Schools will gradually install the weapons detection sensors in the coming months, training staff how to monitor and respond if needed.

The system’s goal: Strike the balance between student engagement and safety.

Following a surge in guns on campus, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools tested the scanners at some high schools. The results were so impressive, every school is now equipped. Last school year, 30 weapons were found without the scanners. So far this year, only three, which shows the technology can also be a deterrent without disrupting the school day.

"It doesn’t have to feel like you’re going into a prison or into an airport," Chitkara said.

Chitkara said the non-invasive nature of Evolv is the key.

"Balancing the experience and the ability to walk though at the pace of life with a high level of detection was the formula that we needed," Chitkara said.