Evolv's AI Weapons Scanner Fails a Utica Stabbing Test, Then Draws an FTC Settlement

Thomas R. Proctor High School in Utica City School District, New York, installed Evolv Technologies' 'Evolv Express' AI-powered weapons-detection scanners for about $3.7 million, replacing traditional metal detectors on the promise that machine-learning models could reliably distinguish weapons from harmless items.

On 31 October 2022, a 17-year-old student carried a hunting-style knife through the scanner undetected and used it to stab another student. Utica administrators decommissioned the Evolv system and reverted to conventional metal detectors, spending an additional roughly $250,000 to remove and replace the equipment.

Reporting documented similar detection failures and high false-alarm rates (independent testing cited rates up to 60% in some schools) at other U.S. school districts using the same technology, out of more than 800 schools across roughly 40 states where Evolv scanners had been deployed.

In November-December 2024 the FTC settled with Evolv, finding the company had deceived schools by claiming its AI could reliably detect 'all' weapons more accurately and cost-effectively than metal detectors, when internal and independent testing did not support those claims. The settlement barred unsupported AI-detection claims going forward and let a subset of K-12 customers (about 8% of Evolv's customer base) cancel remaining contracts, without a fine. The case is a rare instance of a national regulator formally sanctioning an AI vendor for exaggerating an education-safety product's AI capabilities, though the settlement's remedies were narrow and hundreds of schools reportedly continued using Evolv scanners afterward.