JCPS updates security protocols and timeline for weapon detectors

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Guns found in schools are one of the many safety concerns Jefferson County Public School officials hope to change by installing weapon detectors.

The district says they will begin phase one with some high schools in late October. By then, JCPS hopes to have more school security officers.

“We are still hearing from all of our constituents, parents, and staff members about potential violence,” JCPS Board Member Sarah McIntosh said. “Not the frequency of fights but the veracity of them and the violent nature of them.”

Several violent incidents within the district recently include kids bringing weapons to school, fighting on buses, and students covering their hands with mase before fighting.

JCPS Protocol is to call LMPD for assistance.

“Ordinarily, with discipline, we do door to door,” JCPS board member Linda Duncan said. “At the door of the school, students get on the bus, ride home, and get back to their door. If discipline covers door to door, what about our police authority?”

Duncan’s question was posed to Todd Kessinger, JCPS executive director of security and investigation division. He’s been with the district for about a month.

In addition to the weapon detectors and school safety officers, JCPS board members want to know where LMPD fits in their new plan.

“We have had a theft from a school where the case ends up in a neighborhood and arrest powers and authority come into question,” JPCS Security and Investigations Divisions Todd Kessinger said. “If the incident started at a school and transferred into somewhere else. We have a couple of options we will be researching and looking into.”

JCPS security is working with MetroSafe to send officers to incidents. The district is also working with youth violence prevention initiatives which includes a JCPS representative for students who may be going through the court system.

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