Horry County Schools security chief provides update on new weapon detection systems

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – Monday marks one week since the start of the school year for Horry County students. The school year brings with it a lot of changes when it comes to security.

Mike Frederick, the district’s director of safety and security, told the school board that the implementation of the changes has been smooth so far.

“It was an aggressive rollout schedule,” Frederick said. “Principals and teachers, particularly at each individual school, had to learn a lot in potentially three months, when the rollout should have been nine months.”

These new measures include OpenGate weapon detection systems.

“They’re not new for middle school and high school students,” said district spokesperson Lisa Bourcier. “They’re used to going through metal detectors, they’ve been doing it for years, but this is a new type of system for our elementary school students.”

While most students are accustomed to metal detectors, OpenGate uses a different type of technology than the district has used in the past. Students do not have to remove their bags for a separate screening.

“They learned a whole new way of screening that is not 100 percent searching, which is counterintuitive, even though it is better, more effective, and safer,” Frederick said. “It took a lot of changing attitudes, a lot of open-mindedness.”

“It works a little bit differently, so we just have to get used to it and see what works better. That way, we’re not only more thorough in the process, but it also becomes a little bit more convenient,” Bourcier said.

But Fredrick assured the school board that the process has moved faster in the first week alone, with “market improvements in throughput and false positives.”

“Some of our higher throughputs, like the obvious ones, like your St. James, your Carolina Forest schools, we went from searching 3 to 350 bags the first day to searching 30 or 40 bags the last day,” Frederick said.

All students in kindergarten through twelfth grade in Horry County are also required to wear a clear backpack.

District staff reported no issues with this new rule Monday evening.

Copyright 2024 WMBF. All rights reserved.