How Has AI Improved School Safety?

In today’s digital landscape, artificial intelligence is being implemented to assist in many different sectors to perform cognitive functions typically associated with human minds. Along with machine learning and deep learning, AI improved school safety is also very effective at enhancing security, and this is where more focus and implementation are being considered.

Safety in our schools has never been more critical, with rising crime, bullying, and concerns about mental health at the forefront. Anything to increase security is being used. This is where AI shines because cutting-edge technologies are powerful and easily integrated into security infrastructure.

Unfortunately, some question AI use and don’t see the value, even in our learning places.

So, how has AI improved school safety?

Real-Time Video Detection

Most schools already have video surveillance, but it has its limitations. It needs to be monitored because recording footage is impractical. You require a dedicated security person to watch the screens; they can’t be expected to be there at all times, especially when they get work breaks and bathroom visits. AI school security solutions can change all that.

AI-driven video security is on and around the clock, and monitors feed in real time. It can pick up more than just movement, too. Loitering, student ditching, and suspicious activities can be identified, and security personnel are dispatched to make contact immediately.

Harmful situations can be stopped before they escalate, which is powerful. Beyond that, algorithms can differentiate between normal and suspicious activities to reduce false alarms, using security guards.

Facial Recognition

Access control is a safety measure implemented in many schools, enabling only those allowed inside the facility to enter. Normally, this is done manually by unlocking and monitoring doors using a keypad or FOB. This works to a point but slows access for permitted people and leads to FOB and shared password theft.

Facial recognition eliminates these problems and gives rapid access to those enrolled in the system. This AI enhancement can be used for all access doors and different areas within a school for lockdown protocols.

You can also flag individuals from entry, like expelled students, violent individuals, and known intruders, to keep everyone else safe inside the school. It is a balance between security and privacy, but usually, they are coupled with strict privacy policies and data protection.

AI Threat Detection

Another growing concern is students bringing in weapons to use inside schools. This is difficult to detect, and while some schools have metal detectors or bag checks, these can be avoided and worked around fairly easily. This type of manual screening also slows down students’ and staff’s movement and creates an unpleasant environment.

AI threat detection is the answer. The latest advancements bring frictionless gates that everyone must pass through to enter the school campus. These are non-evasive threat detection screening gates that look like decorative elements of the school. Every passing person is automatically scanned for weapons, including knives, guns, and IEDs.

Once detected, an alert can be sent to security personnel. They can calmly approach the person in question and detain them before they use the weapon. This effectively removes the real-time threat of concealed weapons and protects schoolchildren.

Fire and Gas Leaks

Beyond threat detection, AI can also contribute to school safety. Through machine learning and advanced algorithms, AI collects data from various detectors in the building. It cross-analyses this information to identify temperature or smoke presence variations to better direct staff and firefighters to exact locations quickly. This lowers potential damage to public property and saves lives.

Emergency Support

During an emergency, conflicting reports of intruders or active shooters often exist, but with AI, this is much more accurate. Using a comprehensive system of video monitoring and data collection, AI provides precise movement and location of those inside the school looking for harm. It can direct emergency responders to specific locations. It can also be implemented to quickly lock down areas to restrict movement, quarantine students, and provide safe evacuation paths to escape harm.

This is how AI has improved school safety, and it is a welcome hand in protecting our youth while in their learning institutions. More AI implementation will provide better protection for our children, which is good as technology advances.