Evolv Technology's scanners come under fire after security lapses
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Security scanners designed to detect weapons at PNC Park, Acrisure Stadium and Kennywood are coming under criticism.
Pirates fans are less likely to miss the first pitch these days thanks to a new security scanning system that no longer requires them to surrender their cell phones and keys. Its developers say they've eliminated the delays and hassles of going through a traditional metal detector.
"New modern technology, advanced sensors and AI technology to make security screening much easier, much faster, much more frictionless and much more effective," Evolv Technology co-founder Anil Chitkara said.
PNC Park, Acrisure Stadium and Kennywood are just some of the latest venues to embrace Evolv, a sophisticated system designed to detect guns and knives while identifying other metal items as benign. But as one customer found, the system doesn't catch them all.
After the Utica City School District in New York purchased its Evolv system, Superintendent Brian Nolan said it failed to detect a gun and multiple knives. In October, a student smuggled a hunting knife into the high school and attacked another, stabbing him several times.
Nolan: "It was a 7-inch knife. It was a pretty substantial-sized knife, and it didn't detect it."
Nolan said the district invested $3.7 million in the system.
Despite this failure, school districts and sporting venues have been adopting Evolv as a go-to security system, allowing large numbers of people to be scanned without emptying their pockets or taking off articles of clothing. In its initial marketing material, Evolv said it would create "weapons-free zones," but Chitkara now concedes Evolv's sensors aren't fool-proof.
"There are limitations in our technology, as there is with any technology," Chitkara said. "And if anybody says they have technology with no limitation and says it's 100 percent effective, I wouldn't go near it."
A study commissioned by Evolv and conducted by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security found those limitations.
The organization released a summary of the report, giving Evolv's Express System a score of 2.84 out of 3. But the full report obtained by KDKA-TV found that the system failed to detect 42 percent of knives and a small number of guns. The security and technology group IPVM says those numbers may be especially concerning for a place like Kennywood, which had a high-profile shooting incident last fall.
"Did these guns go through the system? Was the system operating correctly? Was the system even plugged in?," said Donald Maye of IPVM.
Sheehan: "Is it OK that it doesn't pick up say 42 percent of knives that go through the detectors?"
Chitkara: "It will continue to get better, but it will never be 100 percent, and that's why security professionals use a combination and a set of layers of security."
Evolv says through software updates, the system is constantly improving but will always need additional security measures to ensure public safety. But IPVM says the company needs to be clear on what it can and can't do.
"The public should understand what it can and can't do and then make a decision as to whether or not they want to commit millions of dollars for this system," Maye said.
Kennywood and the Pirates had no comment, but the Steelers released a statement, saying, "Our staff constantly reviews our security measures to make sure our buildings are as safe an environment as possible."
