In February, both Warren Central and Vicksburg high schools implemented weapons detections systems. The systems use a combination of metal detection and Artificial Intelligence.

The systems were approved by the school board in July 2024. After a bidding process, Jackson Communications of Jackson, Mississippi was chosen to install the systems, called Evolv Express. The total cost of the system, as presented to the board in the December 2024 meeting, was $177,248.00 and will be paid in installment payments over four years.

Vicksburg Warren School District (VWSD) Deputy Superintendent Dr. Cedric Magee explained how the systems work.

“When an individual walks through (the detector), and the AI technology recognizes a weapon or something they aren’t supposed to have, it will put a highlight, or box, around it,” Magee said, referring to screens that are continuously monitored by school employees as students walk through the device.

Students are required to remove their Chromebooks prior to walking through the device, since it would pick up on the metal in the computer. The student hands the Chromebook to a school employee, walks through the system and it is returned to them once they’ve cleared the device.

“So, if I walk in with something in my boot, it will detect what’s in my boot,” Magee said. “If there’s something in my hoodie, it’ll detect that. If there’s something in my bag it doesn’t recognize that could be a possible weapon, it detects that. It’s always learning. We have our administrators and resource officers and security there as the kids come through.”

Administrators “educate” the system by entering items that are permissible to pass through the detection system, Magee said adding items such as umbrellas and metal water bottles are okay.

“The first couple of weeks, when the tennis team would come through, it kept picking up on tennis rackets,” Warren Central High School principal Drew Rainer said. “After a while, we told it, ‘that’s okay,’ so now it doesn’t pick up on the tennis rackets anymore.”

“Another strange thing is, some things that really aren’t a problem that it picks up is, any binder that’s over two inches will set it off,” Rainer said. “Certain book bags have built-in phone chargers, it will pick those up. We still search those, but we’re telling those kids to get one-inch binders. Next year, on our school supply list, we’ll put ‘do not get these specific things’ that set this off. We’re trying to work on an update, so it won’t pick up on the Chromebook.”

Magee explained a simple metal detector will alert that there is metal on the person, but this system goes a step further by actually locating where on the person the object is located.

“If it alerts, one of the security guards will look exactly where it is. It’s not a pat down. It’s not invasive. If it’s something in your purse, let me check. If it’s in your backpack, let me check,” Magee said.

If a weapon is found, there is a specific policy in the school handbook that is followed.

“Right now, as we are learning, we have our security guards and our principals managing the equipment, but down the line, we’re looking at training faculty to use the equipment,” Magee said.

The device is also portable.

“We can move it to football games, or softball games or to the gym for basketball games. It’s moveable. That’s what we really like about it,” he said.

Eventually, the district plans to add the devices to River City Early College and the junior high schools.

Magee said he was able to preview the Evolv system at the Pearl district high school and observe how it worked before VWSD committed to this particular system.

“We want everyone to feel safe,” Magee said. “We want a layer of protection that we can offer our young people, our parents, our teachers, our staff. We want to add that layer of protection.”