Students in North Carolina will return to safer classrooms in the coming weeks. The most recent data shows criminal weapons related offenses in schools were at a 20-year low.

Improved School Security

The number of people caught at school with a semi-automatic rifle dropped to its lowest level since the 2006-07 school year, the earliest year for which data are available. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction counted 1,875 offenses in 2024-25, down from 2,378 offenses the previous year.

State educators are gathered in Greenville this week to update teachers and school officials on best practices for security and safety ahead of the new year. David Kleine, who oversees school safety for Person County Schools, touted his district’s implementation of weapons detection systems in recent years.

Currently, there are several Evolv weapons scanners across multiple county buildings. “It becomes a great deterrent. We’ve had minor issues where there are less than desired objects brought to school. That high success rate has deterred future events from occurring,” Kleine said.

Statewide Trend

Statewide, criminal offenses went down again in North Carolina schools during the 2024-25 school year, with another significant drop in offenses for semi-automatic rifle possession. Total offenses dropped from 12,212 the year before to 11,470 offenses last year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

School officials in Sampson County, North Carolina, are deploying weapons detection systems one week after the start of their school year. It adds to the growing number of school districts in central North Carolina that have implemented some form of weapons detection systems for students.

Original reporting: WRAL Raleigh — read the source article.