WATCHING

New York School to Install Facial-Recognition Tech to Try to Ward Off Shooters

Claims system “would have recognized Nikolas Cruz.”

Schools in Lockport, New York, are set to install facial-recognition technology, which manufacturers claim will alert authorities if expelled students, suspended employees, or sex offenders try to enter campus buildings. Security consultants claim the tech would have identified Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz when he entered the building, as he was expelled from the school at the time. The Lockport City School District’s plan has sparked debates over the effectiveness of the system, student privacy, and civil rights. “We shake our heads that we’re having to deal with and talk about these kinds of security issues,” said Robert LiPuma, technology director for the Lockport district, east of Niagara Falls, “but here we are.” Only students seen as threats will be loaded into the database, say manufacturers. Officials say it’s the first school district in the country to adopt the system. “This would have identified [Cruz] as not being able to be in that building,” said Tony Olivo, a security consultant who recommended the technology for Lockport.