Hadley eyes high-tech weapons detection tool for Hopkins Academy

The Hadley School Committee is considering the installation of a high-tech tool to possibly identify anyone carrying a firearm into Hopkins Academy.

The Hadley School Committee is considering the installation of a high-tech tool to possibly identify anyone carrying a firearm into Hopkins Academy. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Staff Writer

Published: 10-10-2024 6:50 PM

HADLEY — School officials are considering the installation of a high-tech tool to possibly identify anyone carrying a firearm into Hopkins Academy, though School Committee members are wary of moving forward with the idea without more information.

The detection tool would work in conjunction with the building’s existing camera security system, Superintendent Anne McKenzie told the committee at a meeting late last month.

She said that the schools have secured a grant from Equature Weapons Detection System, following an application made at the request of Hadley police over the summer. That grant covers the entire $25,000 cost of the cameras, server and software, as well as annual licensing.

“This is equipment that works in concert with our existing camera system and is designed specifically to identify weapons,” McKenzie said.

But even though the system comes at no cost to the school and with support of local law enforcement, it’s uncertain whether it will be a go, as committee members have many questions about it, including privacy concerns from the use of artificial intelligence and the need for more details about the company, as well as whether it has been successfully used at other schools in Massachusetts.

A vote and further discussion are expected at the committee’s Oct. 21 meeting.

Chairwoman Humera Fasihuddin said she is pleased that there would be a system to detect guns before they get into a building, but worries that artificial intelligence and the means for detecting guns could include profiling students and other visitors by specific visual cues.

“I have a lot of questions around the kind of parameters it would be searching for,” Fasihuddin said.

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Committee member Ethan Percy said he wants to make Hadley schools safer, but also questioned how and what the system would be detecting. Percy said there needs to be a better understanding of what the devices are looking for.

“It’s a great idea in theory, but I’d like to see it play out, so we can better understand what we’d be putting in the building, and what information this company would be capturing,” Percy said.

McKenzie said her understanding is if a weapon is identified in footage an alert is sent, with an image of the weapon, and that goes to a laptop via email and a cellphone via text of those who are included in the first notification. Only a small group of people, selected by the schools and police, would get that image.

Then, working with law enforcement, there would be an escalation mechanism for a second tier notification group, looping in State Police and having a 911 notification so there is a quick response.

McKenzie said 12 Equature cameras would work with the existing cameras and the only costs to Hadley would be any expansion of cameras or licenses.

Chris Quayle, vice president of Business Development at Equature, responded to questions presented to him by McKenzie after the meeting.

McKenzie shared those responses, which included that Equature is being deployed at 12 other districts, that other uses for the system will include higher education, retail and houses of worship and that no profiling of a person is done by the artificial intelligence. The system is only looking for the presence of weapons.

In addition, the system would be housed on the school’s internal network, so will have to comply with any of the existing internal rules, and no storage or retention of video happens, Quayle said.

In January, Equature, a Michigan-based firm describing itself as a leading provider of video analytics and security solutions, issued a press release announced its K-12 grant program, which will donate $1 million worth of weapon detection software and hardware to schools across the country. The idea is to provide safe learning environments.

“We believe that students should feel completely secure while at school, allowing them to focus on learning, growth and development,” Chris Quayle, vice president of Business Development at Equature said in a statement. “With our innovative video analytics solutions, we hope to empower schools to better detect threats and respond quickly.”

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.