Cities fight gun violence with weapon detection technology.

Weapons detection systems are popping up in many places – think metal detectors 2.0. They have Disney World and Six Flags, and more and more school districts are screening students through one each day as they enter school.

In Detroit, city leaders are bringing security checkpoints to public spaces, hoping the technology will help reduce gun violence. As part of the city’s celebration around the Fourth of July, crowds flock to the riverfront to catch a glimpse of the annual fireworks display. It was the first since the outbreak and thousands showed up from Detroit and surrounding areas to watch.

The show brought Tony Semenuk down to watch. Until this year, the St. Clair Shores, Michigan, resident was hesitant to attend.

“Every year when you come down here they set off fireworks and you wouldn’t know they were fireworks,” he said. This is my first time coming down here in six years.

Semenuk noticed a big difference in this year’s fireworks display – the Detroit Police Department created a temporary “weapons search zone” to identify the best place to watch the fireworks.

People had to go through a weapons check before entering. There were rows of doors with little cameras on them as people walked past to be seen. Italy Brown worked for a private security firm hired to manage the fireworks system. She watched the tablet to see if it pointed to anyone.

“This is my first job,” Brown said. But I’m good at technology.

Most people flowed through without problems; There were hardly any lines. But the system has shown many viewers. Brown pointed to an alert on her tablet — a video loop showing an orange box passing by a man’s van. This means there may be weapons.

“As you can see, one, two, three, he put them all in the same area,” Brown said, pointing to the video on her tablet.

Brown did her own search and found nothing, but she did see some metal folding chairs on the wagon. “The chairs will go up, period,” she said, explaining that the steel chairs had been ringing false alarms all day.

But other times, Brown’s weapon detection system works well. Moments later, Lulu Ganam passes through the checkpoint and is flagged down. She was asked to step aside from security and then the police. She had a gun in her purse.

“I am a government soldier. I will make the way. I have to leave work,” Ghannam said after the security team released her. “We want everyone to feel safe and secure, and if that’s going to get us there, that’s a great thing to have.”

Earlier this year, Detroit paid more than $1.3 million to Evolve Technology, a Massachusetts-based company, to develop weapons detection gates. Officials say the technology will allow 3,600 people to pass through these checkpoints every hour.

“That’s one person per second,” says Evolve founder Mike Ellenbogen. We want to simplify the red-light, green-light system.

Evolve Gates use magnetic field sensors to filter and classify objects, Ellenbogen said. But the system’s artificial intelligence sometimes confuses some everyday things for threats, so it’s not 100% accurate.

“If a piece of tubular steel is formed, it could be the barrel of a gun or the leg of a folding chair,” says Ellenbogen.

Still, business was good. The company is constantly growing its list of subscribers. Thousands of Evolve doors are used in museums, schools and stadiums across the country.

In Detroit, Mayor Mike Duggan said at a policy conference earlier this year that he wants to use checkpoints outside of social gatherings, such as nightclubs and barricades.

“We don’t want to arrest you,” Dugan said. “We’re already telling you it’s going to be there. “Leave your gun at home.”

After the fireworks show ended, the Detroit Police Department arrested four people with concealed weapons.

Some residents of the city are worried about the increased surveillance, while others say they like the new technology. Demetrius Jackson lives near the fireworks display. He said he had no experience going out in public but decided to attend the fireworks.

“Usually it wasn’t that safe here,” Jackson said. Now, there is enough security, and I don’t think anything can be harmed.