Xtract One recently sponsored CampusSafety’s inaugural study, Campus Safety Deep Dive: 2024 Weapons, Metal and Gunshot Detection. It offers real-world insights into how 200+ schools and healthcare institutions are managing their security challenges—and where there’s room for improvement. Here’s a glimpse of what we learned:
– The survey reveals a significant gap: more than a quarter of respondents recognize the need for weapons detection but haven’t taken steps to address it.
This hesitancy is concerning, especially in environments where safety has become a ‘must-have’ over a ‘nice to have’ amenity and suggests there may be barriers to deploying these systems, such as education and budgetary constraints.
– Many healthcare institutions and education campuses are leading the way, not waiting for an incident to occur but staying ahead of potential threats by closely monitoring trends in violence. 30% and 40% of hospitals and K-12 campuses, respectively, have embraced weapons detection technology while higher education sits only at 12%.
The adoption of security measures lags behind, often due to a lack of resources and buy-in, or a false sense of security.
– When respondents were asked what their current weapons detection systems screen for, it’s no surprise that 68% said guns and firearms. While 49% stated that their equipment screened for knives, many venues are unaware of what happens behind the scenes.
How do operators know that the systems they have in place actually will screen for knives and other prohibited items beyond guns made of ferrous metal (those expected to be alerted by traditional walk-through metal detectors)?
Xtract One’s latest whitepaper aims to demystify AI weapons detection and provide real, actionable steps for venues like stadiums, schools, and hospitals to test these solutions’ claims so they can prioritize safety first while still achieving the benefits of speed and throughput. Read more here.
We invite you to dive into the full report, where you’ll find detailed data and actionable insights that can help you move from awareness to implementation. And reach out to us to discuss how Xtract One’s weapons detection solutions can help secure your facility.