ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – With constantly evolving technology, weapons detectors and other advanced security systems have been hot topics when it comes to school safety.
While they are great tools, both Roanoke City and Roanoke County Public Schools told WDBJ7 we have to get back to the basics when it comes to school safety.
“You can have all the security theatre you want. Metal detectors, weapons detectors, it boils down to a human being,” said Chris Perkins, Chief Operations Officer at Roanoke City Public Schools.
Perkins stressed that while the school does have weapons detectors and other technology used for safety, it’s just a small part of the overall security measures in place.
“They can be used as a deterrent because we’ve heard something, there’s been issues, could be because of a threat,” he explained.
We requested data from last school year, to see how often the district’s evolv weapons detector system was used.
It shows the system was used 39 times, most often during regular school days, in addition to graduations and athletic events.
The district said staff have found vapes and on one occasion a student threw out a pocketknife, but they did not report any guns being detected.
In Roanoke County, the district does not have weapons detectors, but Executive Director of Administration Tammy Newcomb said they are implementing a new safety tool this year, vape detectors in high school bathrooms.
“The vape detectors will do numerous things. One, they’re going to let us know when there’s students in there vaping, it will also let us know if there’s loud noises if somethings happening in the bathrooms,” Newcomb explained.
Both school districts also utilize measures like double-door vestibules with computer sign-in’s required for visitors.
There’s also a push to make sure students and parents report suspicious activity.
“You can call the police, the police contact us, we contact our SRO officers and then that way we’re on top of it,” Newcomb explained.
In Roanoke City, the district has a 24/7 tip line called Speak Up for Safety, and they are encouraging parents and students to use it anytime they hear something suspicious.
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