Overpromised: Flaws found in weapons detection system used in metro Atlanta schools

An Atlanta News First investigation has uncovered flaws in a weapons detection system currently being used in Atlanta Public Schools (APS) that has also been approved in the DeKalb County School District (DCSD).
The weapons detection system is called Evolv, and is manufactured by Massachusetts-based Evolv Technologies. According to a private report Evolv commissioned and Atlanta News First Investigates obtained, Evolv failed to detect four out of every 10 knives during a 2021 field test at an Ohio sports venue.
One year after that field test, a knife got through an Evolv weapons detection system in Utica, New York, and a student was stabbed multiple times.
Following the incident, the interim superintendent pushed the local board of education to remove the system altogether.
“It’s not a reliable system for detecting knives,” said Brian Nolan, interim superintendent of the Utica City School District, in November 2022. “And it’s not adequate or practical for school use.”
Evolv isn’t refuting the 2021 Ohio field test’s results, but the company said its system has undergone “extensive upgrades since that time.”
When asked if the system can now detect knives more consistently, Jill Lemond, Evolv’s education director, said, “I don’t know if I’m comfortable answering that without a technology background. I’m really more an education person. I do know we’re constantly working to be better at detecting at all types of weapons, and parts and pieces of those weapons.”
“But is it safe to say that Evolv cannot detect any and all weapons?” Atlanta News First Investigates asked.
“I think it’s safe to say that nothing is foolproof, and nothing is perfect,” Lemond answered.
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