Warren City Schools to implement weapon detector technology for 2022-23 school year

The Warren Board of Education has voted to approve installing new weapon detecting technology in district buildings starting in the 2022-23 school year.

Board President. John Fowley tells 21 News that the main reason the board is installing these detectors is to be proactive in preventing future shootings or weapon-related incidents citing the recent suicide at Lowellville schools.

Fowley tells us he believes that incident could have been prevented if the school had this technology.

Fowley explained that this is no ordinary metal detector, as it does not pick up on common metal items such as coins, car keys, cell phones, etc., but is tailored to detect weapons such as guns and knives.

A total of 22 units will be installed in the school. During the board meeting, which can be viewed here, Tom McDermott from CEIA USA showed off the portability of the system.

McDermott explained that this system could be used outside of a classroom in case an anonymous threat to the school surfaced so students can easily be searched to see if there are any weapons on them.

McDermott also suggested random checks akin to OVI checkpoints to make sure there are no weapons in the school.

This is not the first time the district has used this technology. During the school’s previous commencement ceremony, the district rented this system in order to make sure no weapons were present.

Fowley told 21 News that since then, he’s had people come up to him personally to thank the district for implementing that technology stating that they felt extremely safe at the event.

Fowley tells us he’s extremely confident that this will make the school much safer for students and staff.