Stricter Security in Troubling Times

Madeleine Carpentier enters campus through the new detection system. (Sean Wheatley/EagleTalon)

Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) updated safety policies and added equipment throughout its schools in an effort to make students safer starting at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.

Throughout its schools, DCPS has added weapons detectors, and the new Centegix security system, which allows staff to report incidents by using their IDs, and a darker film on the windows.

“These security measures were implemented by Duval County Public Schools as an additional security measure to help keep our schools safe,” Dean Matthew Valaro said.

Due to recent trends around the U.S. with school shootings and violence in schools, DCPS has implemented weapons detectors to prevent students from bringing weapons into schools.

“The Evolv machines, which use radar-like technology and artificial intelligence to detect weapons, were approved by the school board in August and are being hailed as a critical addition to the county’s school safety measures,” according to Vic Micolucci of NEWS4JAX.

DCPS has also added the Centegix system into their high schools as a portable alarm system that staff can wear on their IDs. Pressing the IDs allows for an alarm to go off.

Centegix provides incident response safety solutions for emergencies, from the everyday to the extreme. (Centegix)

“It sends an immediate alert to school administrators that there is a threat, and a lockdown needs to be initiated,” according to Team Duval Newsroom writer Laureen Ricks. “And also sends an immediate alert to school police and Jacksonville-area law enforcement that there is an emergency, and a lockdown is being initiated.”

Everything isn’t without its downsides, however, as weapons detectors have been known to flag different, harmless items as weapons.

“The technology is great, but it also detects laptops, binders, eyeglass cases, and umbrellas,” Valaro added. “It requires vigilant security measures to ensure there are no weapons getting on campus.”

So far for the 2023-2024 school year, DCPS’s new security measures have been a successful deterrent on campus.

“Paxon students are generally well-behaved,” Valaro said. “While the new technology may make someone think twice about bringing a weapon to school, it doesn't have any real impact on student behavior.”