About the New Metal Detectors

With all of the rumors floating around about the new metal detectors, many people have questions regarding when and why they are in the building, and how they work. I was able to speak with Dr. Jarrett last Thursday to get some insight into the new addition. When it comes to a schedule, there really isn’t one. The metal detectors will be in the school at random, both in terms of dates and times. You might see them in the mornings, or you could see them in the afternoons. Other times it may be circumstantial if there is a reason to have them in the building. The way these machines work is more like an x-ray, showing outlines of what is inside of bags while also detecting metals. According to Dr. Jarrett, “If it’s in the shape of something that looks like a weapon, it dings.” And ding it did, as many people experienced false detections last Thursday. After many tests, the county police officers have had success in it detecting real weapons and parts of them, though it still has issues with determining if it is a real weapon, or just happens to look like one. The principal stated that he would rather have false positive detections than false negatives, which is good reasoning. We probably will be seeing metal detectors here and there during the school year, but hey, at least it’s not TSA.