CASE: Weapons Detection in School | Schenectady City High School

Objective

In the face of growing concerns around campus safety, Schenectady City School District set out to implement an effective, scalable weapons detection strategy that would protect students and staff—without disrupting the learning process. Their goal: eliminate weapons and other prohibited items from entering school buildings, while maintaining a welcoming and respectful environment for students.

Background

Schenectady High School represents a typical American public school: large student population, multiple entrances, tight schedules, and limited staffing resources. Like many schools across the U.S., it struggled with the balancing act between open, accessible education and real, escalating threats—ranging from concealed knives and pepper spray to firearms and vapes. Community resistance to “airport-style” screening was strong at first. But a series of violent incidents, including two cases involving loaded firearms in December 2023 and a knife attack in September 2024, made it clear: passive security was no longer an option.

School Security Challenges

Most schools are not built for modern security screening. Entrances are crowded. Mornings are chaotic. Resources are limited. Parents expect safety; students deserve dignity. Traditional scanners require trained operators and manual inspection, which slows down entry and increases friction. Meanwhile, threats are evolving: vapes disguised as pens, folding knives, even components of homemade weapons. Many schools lack the tools to detect these items effectively without disrupting the entire flow of the school day.

Timeline of Implementation

After stakeholder surveys showed majority support for enhanced screening, the district applied for a COPS SVPP grant and organized a community “Safety Fair” featuring 11 competing technologies. LINEV Systems’ BV 5030 emerged as the standout solution. The system was installed at Schenectady High School in January 2025. Staff training at the high school took just three weeks. When the district expanded the program to middle schools, full training and deployment took under two days.

“I felt like LINEV brought me the scanner that I was looking for. It had the speed, it had the AI technology, it kept a person in the loop… it had what I was looking for in a scanner.”

Jeffrey Russo.District Director of Climate and School Safety

Solution Overview

BV 5030 weapons detection system with AI resolved these challenges at Schenectady High School. The system provides accurate, real-time scanning of backpacks and personal items, identifying threats like knives, guns, and vapes—before they enter the building. Its compact footprint, portability, and AI-assisted screening allowed the school to implement it quickly and discreetly, without turning their campus into a checkpoint.

Deployment and Results

Before implementation, Schenectady High School recorded approximately 45 knife-related incidents during the 2023–2024 school year—about one per week. After deploying BV 5030 in January 2025, only one knife incident occurred in the next 24 weeks, and it did not pass through the scanner. Meanwhile, 22 attempts to bring weapons were stopped at the entrance. Cameras also captured students turning away to discard items upon seeing the scanning system—proving its value as a deterrent.

Operational Success

The school reported seamless throughput, screening up to 2,500 students each morning. The unit’s compact design made it easily portable and less intimidating to students. “Anywhere I can wheel it to, I can store it. Less big is less intimidating when it comes to a school,” Russo noted. The quick training cycle and ease of deployment made it ideal for scaling across the district.

From Smart Scanning to Next-Gen Security Gateways

While BV 5030 has delivered measurable results, it represents just the starting point of what’s now possible. LINEV Systems has since developed a new class of solutions built around the NextGen Security Gateway concept—fusing high-speed scanning, AI-driven threat detection, and dual-view imaging into one seamless system. These new gateways can automatically detect weapons, vapes, and prohibited items in real time, without the need for operator interpretation.

Designed specifically for schools, events, and high-traffic venues, this new generation offers:

• Fully automated AI screening
• Dual-view, multi-energy X-ray imaging for maximum detection accuracy
• Unmatched throughput—processing hundreds of bags in minutes
• Seamless, respectful screening experience for students

To explore this next level of school protection, visit our dedicated site: schoolxraysecurity.com.