Pennsylvania school district uses AI-based gun detection

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PENNCREST School District in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, has deployed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based gun detection video analytics platform to all campuses.

PENNCREST is a mid-sized public school district located in Northwest Pennsylvania. It encompasses 408 acres and consists of six schools: three K-6 elementary schools and three 7-12 high schools.

The district was founded in the 1970s through a merger of the Saegertown, Randolph-East Mead, and Cambridge Springs school systems. The name “PENNCREST” is derived from the words Pennsylvania, Cambridge Springs, Randolph, East Mead, Saegertown, and Townville.

Layered on top of a school’s existing IP security cameras, the solution by ZeroEyes — which holds the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act Designation — will help PENNCREST identify brandished guns and alert school administrators, safety personnel, and local law enforcement.

Former U.S. military and law enforcement specialists monitor from the in-house ZeroEyes Operations Center (ZOC) to deliver intelligence on active shooter incidents, including the gunman’s appearance, clothing, weapon, and real-time location. The platform does not record, store, or share videos or images of students or others, ensuring that privacy is maintained.

“The Uvalde shooting raised the concerns of many parents in our district, especially because we are a geographically large school district in a rural part of Pennsylvania where improving law enforcement response time is critical,” said Dr. Timothy S. Glasspool, Superintendent, PENNCREST School District. “ZeroEyes has been proven to improve response time dramatically, which is crucial for saving lives in active shooter situations. We consider [this] proactive technology to be an indispensable part of our layered security solution.”

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