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ROME, N.Y., June 21, 2004. Researchers from the Air Force and the National Institute of Justice have adopted military security technology for a domestic application � screening high school students for concealed weapons.
Researchers tested the device in a New York City public high school for a second time, using it to find concealed, small metal objects.
Small razor blade devices, wielded as part of gang-related activities, surfaced as a major security problem in schools several years ago. The New York City Police Department's School Safety Division personnel could fine-tune existing metal detectors to identify the threats. But such sensitivity triggered alarms from every miniscule metallic object worn by thousands of students scanned each morning.
The answer to effectively and efficiently screening students came from 250 miles north of the city -- a cooperative initiative of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)'s Information Directorate and NIJ's National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center Northeast (NLECTC-NE).
The device is called the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL)/View Systems Concealed Weapons Detection Portal.
The demonstration at Taft High School in the Bronx was the second operational demonstration of this magnetometer portal, developed by INEEL for the National Institute of Justice under the Information Directorate's Concealed Weapons Detection Program. In February 2001, a passive magnometer device was also installed at Washington Irving High School on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
For the recent test, staffers installed the concealed weapons detection equipment for daily processing of nearly 3,000 students. Personnel from the NLECTC-NE and the New York City Police Department assisted.
"We deployed a second-generation 'SecureScan 2000' magnometer and the testing went exceptionally well," said Christopher McAleavey, a project manager for NLECTC-NE. The organization is co-located with the Air Force laboratory at the Griffiss Business & Technology Park.
"New York City was selected to test this technology because of a serious problem with razor blades involved with gang initiation slashings," said Mr. McAleavey. "Conventional metal detectors have been used in the city's schools for about ten years and can detect razorblades, but they have to be calibrated with such sensitivity that belt buckles and body jewelry set off alarms."
Traditional detectors set at their high sensitivity often pick up nuisance objects, such as zippers, coins, and body jewelry. Those accounted for nearly half of the 3,000 Taft students during the 90-minute arrival period each day, forcing security officials to make split-second decisions on whether to hand-search each specific student.
"A magnometer is not a 'metal detector,' said Mr. McAleavey. "It identifies all ferrous metal objects -- but only ferrous metal objects. About 40 percent of the students were setting off alarms when we got to the Taft high school in April. Hand-searching 1,200 students was a very labor-intensive effort for the four male and four female security officers involved. So we got the 'false alarm' rate down to 10 percent. They can handle 300 students in 90 minutes and do a very thorough job."
Researchers first tested this technology in the winter of 2001, with help from the NYPD School Safety Division. They used it at Washington Irving High School to determine if daily monitoring could be accelerated. With students passing through the SecureScan 2000, only ferrous objects triggered alarms. A second unique advantage of the system was its ability to pinpoint the location of the alarmed object, helping security personnel to quickly identify the suspect item.
The system had two components. Students walked through a portal similar to a traditional metal detector; however, cables carried sensor data to a nearby computer that displayed a photo image on a monitor and pinpointed suspect objects. Observations and comments from school and police personnel were integrated into system requirements for the second-generation version of the SecureScan 2000 used in this year's demonstration.
"Authorities in the original testing identified and seized razor blades, as well as other articles not allowed in the classrooms - such as cell phones and pagers," said Mr. McAleavey. "But one of the most interesting aspects of the testing was the reaction of students. They loved it. They saw this as the next level of technology that provides for a safer school environment. It was a very positive reaction."
The passive magnometer is one of several technologies identified for potential law enforcement and corrections applications under the Air Force's Concealed Weapons Detection (CWD) program, managed by Bernie Clarke of the directorate's Information and Intelligence Exploitation Division.
"This is a true transition of military technology to the benefit of law enforcement and school safety," said Mr. Clarke. "School security personnel identified both good and bad features of the system during the original testing and those observations were incorporated into the second-generation device."
NLECTC-NE is a program of the NIJ for assisting the criminal justice practitioners in the development, implementation and evaluation of modern technology. The organization's goal is to leverage AFRL technology to benefit the criminal justice practitioner.
NIJ is the research and development agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. NIJ provides objective, independent, non-partisan, evidence-based knowledge and tools to meet the challenges of crime and justice, particularly at the state and local levels.
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