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LRSD installing weapon detection systems on campuses

In an effort to make sure that students and staff are safe at school, the Little Rock School District will be putting in weapon detection systems on campuses.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Safety at school is top of mind for parents, and it's also the focus of new systems at Little Rock School District buildings.

"I think it's a proactive step into making sure that our schools are safe," LRSD Security Director Ron Self said, as he showed off new technology at Hall Steam Magnet High School on Wednesday.

Renovations are happening— there will be no major changes, but an addition.

"What we're looking for is weapons, such as guns or bombs or anything of a mass type," Self said. "You don't have to take everything out of your pockets, your quarters, and your pennies that you haven't used in ten years, you can just walk on through."

The system will ignore common items like your keys or sunglasses.

It's not just at Hall that you'll see the new system. Self said they expect to have every school higher than the elementary level equipped with weapon detection systems.

"We reduce entrances, and then the purpose of that is to make it where there are very few entrances to get into the building period," Self said. "We don't want the students coming in any other ways."

This also won't be the only system that the district uses. Lights and speakers throughout the buildings can strobe and alert people to a threat if there is one.

"Crisis alert is active in all schools already," Self explained.

Finishing up the entire system will still take some time, and Self said that shipping delays prevented them from hitting their spring break start time as they hoped.

Even with the delays, he said it's almost impossible to overstate the importance this has to keeping students safe.

"With the security department, we don't talk about security or discuss security when an incident happens, we discuss it every day," Self added. "It's something that we talk about every day and try to improve every day."

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