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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 21, 2024 10:27 AM |
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| From: | Representative Shelby Labs and Rep. Joe Hogan |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Utilizing Technology to Keep Students Safe |
| In recent years, the advance in artificial intelligence has led to the creation of new and innovative technologies capable of monitoring video feeds to detect brandished firearms in real-time. When a brandished firearm is detected, these technologies possess the ability to immediately notify law enforcement of the existence of the threat, thereby reducing response times and minimizing the risk of injury or death. While this technology has been implemented in several school districts and high-crime areas in this Commonwealth, including the SEPTA transit system and Temple University, our primary and secondary schools would undoubtedly benefit from the deployment of this technology. In any active shooter scenario, real-time situational intelligence is imperative to stop the threat and protect the lives of innocents in the area. Unfortunately, a common thread of many of the recent active shooter incidents in the United States is the complete lack of situational intelligence resulting from stress, panic, and information overload. While law enforcement may speedily arrive at a location in the general vicinity of an active shooter, officers are commonly presented with either conflicting or no information regarding the real-time location of the shooter. When a gunman opened fire on the campus of Michigan State University in 2022, police received over 2,000 reports within a short span of time that placed the shooter at multiple locations over a 5-mile radius. At a time when every second matters, it is imperative that we equip our school districts and law enforcement agencies with the tools necessary to prevent and respond effectively to any active shooter incident. Please join me in cosponsoring these important bills, which serve as companions to Representative Joe Hogan’s recently-introduced legislation, HB 2026, that authorizes public and nonpublic schools to connect firearm detection technology to existing security cameras on school grounds. |
Document #1
| Description: | Bill #1 This bill will require the Department of Education to conduct a study on the feasibility of deploying firearm detection technology on air- or land-based drones to secure large properties, areas where fixed cameras cannot provide adequate surveillance, or simply where the deployment of a mobile camera platform will enhance security. If the Department determines that the use of drone technology is feasible, it shall develop a pilot program to test usage of the technology from drones. |
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Document #2
| Description: | Bill #2 This bill will create a firearm detection technology program within the Department of Education. The Department will be required to develop best practices and guidance for which school properties or activities can best benefit from this pioneering technology, how to protect the privacy rights of those subject to surveillance, and to explore strategies to acquire the technology in a manner making its deployment economically possible for every school district in the state. |
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