Protecting students: School district adds artificial intelligence to increase security

PEORIA, Ill. (WEEK/Gray News) - A school district in Illinois has approved a new security system officials say should better protect students.

WEEK reports Peoria Public Schools will be getting a new security system that will operate without being noticed. The security system is known as Intellisee, and the company says it is a real-time artificial intelligence security platform.

The system consists of 64 cameras that would reportedly learn over time to protect kids as they go about their day at school.

According to an Intellisee representative, data will be analyzed in real-time to identify objects and people while recording footage for future playback. It will also alert staff to handle whatever problem it detects if it poses a danger of some kind.

The security system is expected to notify a custodian if it detects a puddle or police if a shooting incident is being monitored.

“This is just simply adapting with the current climate of what a school day could look like in 2022,” said Mike Murphy, with the Peoria Public Schools school board.

Members of the school district shared that none of the data or video collected would leave the servers, meaning no third parties would have access.

During Tuesday’s meeting on the new security system, members of the school board brought up the deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas. An incident that district leaders said they want to do everything they can to avoid it from happening locally.

“As a district, we need to learn from that situation, and learning from that means putting different things in place that could potentially stop the threat of violence inside of our schools,” said Gregory Wilson, with the Peoria Public Schools board.

Officials said the system is expected to be active at the beginning of the upcoming school year, with payment coming from state funds and grants focused on student support.

Peoria Public Schools board members said the district has agreed to a one-year contract with Intellisee.

“We want to make sure it’s safe, and we’re going to do our job as a district to ensure school safety,” Wilson said. “A top priority is the safety of our students, staff, teachers and administrators.”

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