Autoclear Case Study

In 2006, a major school district in the Kansas City area decided to purchase laptop computers for all of its High School students. As part of that decision, the administration determined that the security at the front door should also be upgraded. The unusual thing about this situation was that the administration wanted x-ray scanners at the front door, but the security department did not. Usually the feelings are just the opposite. Screening officers felt that they could perform a complete search of a student’s bag in just a few seconds.

Autoclear offered to put in a demo machine for one week so that the effectiveness of the scanners could easily be measured. The machine was installed on a Friday afternoon and the officers were trained. Previously, it would take about 25 minutes for all the students to be screened. On Monday after the machine was installed, it took 35 minutes to get the students in the building. But on Friday, after the learning curve was overcome, it took less than 15 minutes to admit all of the students. While the usual knives and other small weapons were expected to be found, they were surprised to find that about 30 percent of the students were bringing scissors into class (large sharp sewing scissors). This resulted in machines being purchased for every high school in the district. Four years later, every elementary school in the district also received Autoclear machines.

The installation of Autoclear machines allowed students to enter the building quicker, security officers performed more thorough searches, and a safer environment was created for students of the district.