Kansas is rolling out grants for real-time gun-detection software that can spot and report an active shooter in seconds.
The Legislature appropriated $10 million in grants – $2.5 million in each of the state’s four congressional districts – that would supply interested schools with AI-powered gun detection software that spots openly carried guns on campus through the schools’ existing security cameras.
The monitoring, according to an announcement by state Attorney General Kris Kobach, comes from firearm detection technology company ZeroEyes, which provides 24/7 detection “by trained U.S. military veterans in a monitoring center to eliminate false alerts,” and “alerts school staff and local law enforcement in as little as 3-5 seconds with real-time details, including images and threat location.”
“Public schools may begin applying immediately, provided they meet the infrastructure requirements as defined in the application,” reads a press release from Kobach’s office. “Grants are available to all public schools on a first-come, first-served basis.”
A flier from ZeroEyes says its technology provides “AI-powered brandished gun detections from software layered on your existing security cameras,” and “real-time, actionable intel.”
The flier notes the software’s “algorithm looks for visible firearms only; no facial detection” and provides timestamped images with geolocation, as well as “real-time tracking” and “actionable intel” that can include “weapon type.”
No school can ask for more than $250,000, and no district more than $500,000 total, according to a letter to state school superintendents from Kobach’s office, which adds, “Approval is contingent upon satisfactory IT feasibility assessment performed by ZeroEyes.”
School security has been much in the news nationally – and on parents’ minds: “A recent Gallup poll showed 44% of parents ‘fear for their oldest child’s physical safety at school,’ up from 15% in 2008,” The Lion reported last fall.
In New Mexico, The Lion reported Monday, “five of Albuquerque Public Schools’ middle schools have implemented a new policy requiring all student backpacks to be clear.”
“Clear backpacks will make it tougher for students to conceal things that they shouldn’t have, like weapons,” district superintendent Dr. Gabriella Blakey told KOAT News.
