Calera Police preparing to use AI weapons detectors at first home high school football game

CALERA, Ala. (WBRC) - Calera hosts Chelsea in its first official home football game of the season this Friday, and police say fans can expect to see some new tools designed to help keep them safe and prevent guns from getting into the stadium.

The new AI weapons detectors at the stadium are not just metal detectors. They are high-tech equipment similar to what you may see at Alabama or Auburn games.

Brian Pope has been going to Calera football games for years. He worked for WBRC’s Sideline for a long time and now enjoys games alongside his daughter, Preslee, a sophomore cheerleader.

He said he welcomes any gameday safety upgrades that help keep his family safe.

“Friday nights are great in Calera! Small town, high school football,” Pope said. “I think it’s great that they’re doing this. I mean, it’s one of those things, we all think it can’t happen to us until it happens to us.”

Calera Police Chief David Hyche said the urgency behind the upgrade is real.

“There were 17 high school football related shootings the first month of 2024 around the country, most of those in the southeast,” Hyche said. “I don’t want to wait until after some kids are shot to instill these precautions.”

Hyche said the department used federal grant money to purchase two weapons detectors at a cost of around $30,000 each.

Fans will now walk between poles when entering games.

“They are not just metal detectors. They’re weapons detectors,” Hyche said. “And they use AI to try to discern weapons from other metal.”

Because of the software, the detectors can learn and improve over time.

Hyche said they were first used at a preseason scrimmage where they moved about 1,900 people through the gates quickly. However, police are still working through some glitches.

“There are some other items that will set the detector off that we learned in the last game, so your stadium seat with the metal hinge, we may ask you to pass that around, but other than that they work pretty good,” Hyche said.

Police are thanking fans in advance for their patience. You’ll walk through the devices one at a time, and you do not have to empty your pockets at the gate.

Pope said he didn’t run into any issues during the preseason game.

“My experience with it, just from one night, has it has not been a problem at all,” Pope said.

In addition to the new detectors, Calera has increased its number of school resource officers at games from three to 12 in recent years. Police said there will also be patrols and cameras in the parking lots.

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