Across the country, more schools are installing AI-driven metal detectors, often spending millions to ease concerns and fortify buildings.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) district has been using the technology for over a year in their schools and said it seems to be deterring students from bringing weapons – and in the rare case that someone does bring a gun, the system seems to work.

"On the first day of implementation, a firearm was found through the Evolv system. On the very first day. It was in a student’s backpack," said Brian Schultz, Chief Operations Officer of CMS.

The detectors aren’t cheap, and the district said it spent about $19 million for four years of service.

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The school district started using cameras and metal detectors from Evolv Technology in 2022 to sniff out weapons like guns and knives before they make it on campus.

The tech uses advanced sensors and AI to allow students to walk through the detectors at a normal pace. If a threat is detected, that person is pulled aside for a bag search.

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"We have a large dataset, and it’s proven to be very successful in our district," Schultz said.

Schultz said there were 31 guns found on CMS campuses during the 2021-22 school, but last year – the first full year with the Evolv products – that number significantly lowered to seven.

On a national level, the Gun Violence Archive reported roughly 850 guns were found in U.S. schools this past school year, approximately 250 more than the year before.

"The traditional metal detectors really took a lot of time, everybody would have to take everything out of their backpacks, and the process for getting people through was really quite lengthy," said Jason Russell, founder of Secure Education Consultants, a company made up of former Secret Service Agents who help schools and businesses around the country improve safety.

November data from the U.S. Department of Education found at least 14% of high schools, 7% of middle schools and 3% of elementary schools across the country use metal detectors.

"I don’t like the way that it is, I don’t like that I’m standing here talking to you, talking about guns in schools," Schultz said.

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While CMS and Secure Education Consultants said weapon detectors are a great tool, they both agreed that they can’t be only form of prevention. Of the seven guns found on CMS campuses last school year, one was called in by a fellow student.

"That (student) had a relationship with a teacher that felt comfortable with reporting that to the teacher," Schultz said.

According to Evolv, its technology can be found in schools across 34 states to screen hundreds of thousands of students every day, and interest is expanding rapidly.

The company recently began partnerships with a few more large school districts, such as the Dekalb County School District in Georgia, the Baltimore City School District in Maryland and the Douglas County School District in Colorado.