APS board approves $2.6M to install weapon detection systems in middle, high schools

ATLANTA — Atlanta Public Schools is spending millions to upgrade security at all middle and high schools.

The school board just approved $2.6 million for advanced weapons screening machines.

They’re intended to supplement metal detectors already in place.

The new technology, similar to what’s used at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Lenox Square mall, is less intrusive than traditional metal detectors and won’t require school staff to search each student’s bag by hand.

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“It allows us to screen large numbers of groups of people at a faster rate,” APS police Chief Ronald Applin told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Applin said the district has seen an uptick in the number of weapons brought to its school campuses over the last year. Most of the guns recovered by APS are stolen, he said.

APS said it hopes to have the machines in place no later than January.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this article.

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