Walk-through metal detectors are coming to all Duval County high schools, according to the district.
DCPS is also in the process of adding security cameras to its schools, beginning with high schools. One school currently serves as the test model, but district police declined to name which one.
The security additions were announced at a safety forum for parents at Raines High School on Monday evening.
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District Police Chief Micheal Edwards told Action News Jax he and Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene spent the first few weeks of the school year doing "walk-throughs" at different schools, to determine what improvements were needed.
“What happened on Feb. 14 (Parkland) has really changed safety and security in every school in the state of Florida,” said Edwards. “As a result, I would be negligent if I didn’t take advantage of all the resources out there.”
The process to start adding walk-through metal detectors in schools will take several months, at the very least.
Chief Edwards says DCPS should start receiving equipment for the metal detectors in the next one to three months. Then district leaders will have to determine where to install them at each school, and there is the installation process itself. School administrators and officers will then have to be trained.
District police couldn’t give a final timeline for when all the equipment would be installed and working, but said the rollout would be gradual.
Leaders said the metal detectors and cameras will be paid for partially with DCPS money. The district also believes the state will pony up for the rest.
The money will also support more handheld "wand" metal detectors.
Cox Media Group
