A Michigan school district has selected an artificial intelligence (AI)-based gun detection platform as a way to proactively protect its students and faculty against gun-related violence.

 ZeroEyes, the creators of the only AI-based gun detection video analytics platform that holds the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act Designation, recently announced that its proactive gun detection and intelligent situational awareness solution will be deployed by Michigan’s Olivet Community Schools to protect students and faculty against gun-related violence. The school was approved for the State’s dedicated grant funding, enabling Olivet to implement ZeroEyes.

Olivet Community Schools comprises an elementary school, as well as a middle and high school that are located at the same complex. According to The Gun Violence Research Center, 55% of the incidents analyzed in Michigan educational systems were spontaneous attacks and 42% involved former students. To combat the rising threat of violence, the district has been bolstering its safety and security efforts by installing an access control system and brand-new digital cameras, along with the deployment of the new technology.

"We've always maintained a multi-layered security framework, from our security camera and access control system to CRG maps for first responders, and adding ZeroEyes significantly strengthens our preparedness," said John Mertz, Superintendent of Olivet Community Schools. "While this technology greatly enhances our security, we hope we never have to use it in a real-world situation."

The AI gun detection and intelligent situational awareness software layers onto existing digital security cameras. If a gun is identified, images are instantly shared with the ZeroEyes Operations Center (ZOC), staffed 24/7/365 by specially trained U.S. military and law enforcement veterans. If these experts determine that the threat is valid, they dispatch alerts and actionable intelligence — including visual description, gun type, and last known location — to local law enforcement and the district's school resource officers as quickly as three to five seconds from detection.

A variety of K-12 school districts and other industries have adopted gun detection technology to improve building safety.