In many ways, the story of Evolv’s success at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis, Tennessee is no different than at any other venue.

Because of Evolv, theatergoers get into the venue more quickly. There are no lines out the door while people wait to have their belongings checked by security – they just walk on through, maybe they buy a beverage or some memento of the show, and have a pleasant experience. And, of course, all of this comes without compromising safety, thanks to Evolv’s cutting-edge technology.

But this story is different because of the way that Evolv came to the Orpheum Theater.

Evolv & Johnson Controls

One of the things that sets this Orpheum Theater experience apart is that Evolv’s customer on the project was actually Johnson Controls, not the theater itself.

Johnson Controls works to transform the environments where people live, work, learn, and play. “It’s all about the design,” says Josh Boswell, a commercial account executive at Johnson Controls who worked closely with the Orpheum on deployment. “For our customers, we seek to optimize building performance, enhance comfort, and improve safety. For Orpheum’s patrons, comfort and safety are both incredibly important; we could not sacrifice one for the other. When we saw Evolv Express® in action, and learned how it is strategically placed in a venue to do exactly those things, we knew it was the right solution.”

Because Evolv can be integrated with other technologies, such as video surveillance and access control, it helps Johnson Controls offer a more complete building-wide solution across a variety of industries and venues.

At the Orpheum Theater, Johnson Controls was able to figure out ahead of time where the Evolv system would best work alongside the venue’s other security measures. Because the type of physical security screening Evolv offers is different from traditional electronic security like access control, cameras, and intrusion systems, Johnson Controls took care of those aspects first. From that point, the Evolv deployment was turnkey.

Orpheum’s unique safety and patron experience needs

Representatives from the Orpheum Theater were with the team from Johnson Controls to see Evolv in action at another venue. They immediately saw the answer to a consistent problem.

The Orpheum has always placed a priority on safety. They had security inside the venue covered. The problem came when people were waiting to get inside, as security checks forced the line to spill outside into the street.

Achieving internal buy-in was easy because the benefit of the Evolv system was twofold. Not only did it get people inside the venue more quickly – and more safely – it did so in a completely contactless manner. To be able to get patrons to their seats with as little contact as possible at a time when the Orpheum was navigating COVID enabled the Orpheum’s vice president and chief operating officer to quickly get fellow decision-makers on board with Evolv.

Back on stage

Today, when the Orpheum opens its doors to the kinds of performances it prides itself on bringing to the mid-South, like a Broadway show, patrons walk right in without having to stop for security.

The response has been positive all around – both from the customers’ point of view as well as the board members who needed to provide that all-important approval.

The Orpheum Theater experience shows Evolv isn’t only the perfect solution for a venue…but it could also be what an organization like Johnson Controls needs when tasked with trying to improve security for one of its customers.

For Evolv, partnering with organizations like Johnson Controls allows us to reach even more markets and to keep even more people safe, whether that’s employees at their workplaces or visitors to venues like the Orpheum.

Johnson Controls has been offering solutions for more than 130 years. Their selection of Evolv for such a prestigious project is an important and valued testimonial to our work.

Go to any security trade show lately, and you’ll see them in the exhibit hall: rows upon rows of security technologies available for venues, stadiums, health care facilities, schools, and workplaces. These range from access control gates, to video management systems, to surveillance camera analytics, to gunshot detectors, to mass notification and communication technologies and more: the list goes on and on.  

The last tradeshow I went to had a robotic dog. And yes, that is just as compelling (and cute) as it sounds, but the range of available technologies for venue security and operations always makes me wonder: how does amassing a vast network of seemingly disparate tools help a security team work in lockstep across them to ensure the safety of their guests and employees?  

To be fair, two or more such technologies (robotic dogs notwithstanding) are often integrated together into a single solution. These integrations are vital to ensure that, when a threat actor is apprehended somewhere across your venue or facility, the rest of your team knows about it. In response, the system of people, processes and technologies all kick into gear—automating the safekeeping of your guests and employees.  

Integrating Weapons Detection at Ingress 

The most notable technology missing these vital integrations? Traditional metal detectors. Despite their location at the all-important front entryway to many venues, these purely analog devices (walk through metal detectors and hand wands included) can detect metal items including guns, knives, and IEDs—but who else can learn about what they’ve found, besides the operator and the bad actor?  

By combining cameras, sensors, artificial intelligence, and advanced video analytics with cloud connectivity, Evolv Express not only distinguishes weapons from other metal items we carry, it can communicate what it’s found to other venue security technologies. This integration can automatically initiate security protocols and support the all-important communication and coordination of a security response across a venue when a weapons threat is identified.  

In the latest release of Evolv Express®, Version 4.0, built-in integrations to Milestone VMS and Titan HST Mass Notification System mean that vital information about any threat verified at the system, or any request for assistance by an operator, is automatically sent to security technologies already in use across your venue. In other words, the same information that your operators have access to at any Express system across a venue can also be accessed by operators using these technologies for VMS (video management system) or mass notification at your venue: including all the associated downstream processes and protocols that these technologies already automate.  

Here’s how it works:

Better Threat Detection Plus Automated Communication 

In addition to providing both an audible and a visual alarm, Evolv Express uses tablets connected to the system to provide operators with targeted views—both static and animated—of the bad actor(s) as they walk through the system. With the images communicated by Express, it’s easy for operators to quickly see both who alarmed the system, even as multiple people in the same party walk through together, and where on their person or bag to search, even if the threat is concealed or hard for other technologies to find, like high on their body or down at their feet.  

When an operator does verify the presence of a weapon, one-touch tagging on the Express tablets instantly communicates information about the identified threat to integrated systems across a venue. Plus, an additional built-in communications function on the operator tablets, Request Assistance, also leverages these integrations to signal help—both with the speed and ease of a single touch and with the ability for an operator to quickly type in a message.  

What Can Integrated Systems Do with This Information?  

A fast and effective response to a potential weapons threat is essential to protecting a venue. The right information in a timely fashion accelerates this response, allowing the extended security team to execute protocols and procedures already built into these integrated technologies.  

In the latest release of Evolv Express, Version 4.0, built-in and easy-to-configure integrations to Milestone VMS and Titan HST Mass Notification System communicate this vital information about threat items verified at the system, or requests for assistance made by an operator, to the security technologies already in use across your venue. A similar integration with the Avigilon Control Center (ACC) is also available.  

These technologies can trigger venue protocols and procedures across your extended security teams and with other technologies: kicking off a venue-wide response like a lock-down, ensuring backup support is quickly sent to the scanner that detected the threat, communicating to the right personnel across security teams, employees, or even guests, and/or contacting local law enforcement authorities.  

This information is not only useful for coordinating responses in-the-moment. It can also support future forensic analysis. In Milestone VMS, for example, playback of any past alerts is supported by associating a camera (either the front and rear cameras onboard Express or other cameras connected to Milestone VMS) with incoming alerts from Express—meaning that you can review footage captured just before and just after the time of the alert.  

Conclusion: Integrations Should Alleviate the IT Burden on Security Teams—Not Add to It.  

Whether it’s robotic dogs or integrated weapons detection, adding security technologies to a venue should not further burden security teams. Rather, these systems should become a seamless, valuable part supporting security personnel in their mission to keep a venue and its guests safe.  

We’ve taken great care to build these integrations in as simple steps for system administrators to follow into the MyEvolv Portal—a web-based and mobile-enabled platform making it easy to remotely manage Evolv Express systems and their performance metrics across a venue or a set of venues. Then, operators at Express follow the same procedures as always—tag a threat they’ve identified with the right threat type (gun, knife, or other) or simply tap Request Assistance—and the integrated venue security technologies take it from there.  

Addressing a weapons threat at ingress is vital to protecting your guests, employees, and visitors, and Evolv is working hard to integrate the security technologies that help teams realize that mission.  

Attending a sports event in person should be exciting; something you look forward to.

It’s a chance to root for your team with thousands of other fans and maybe even witness a little piece of history.

For too many fans, though, that experience is overshadowed by the hassle that getting into the stadium, ballpark or arena has become. While it’s designed to keep fans safe, the security process at most events also causes backups that can put the excitement of spectators on hold.

Evolv is changing that.

Evolv has already improved the fan experience at stadiums and ballparks in the National Football League, Major League Soccer, and Major League Baseball, and we want to show every venue in professional sports that we can provide real, tangible solutions to transform the customer journey.

Improving the experience from street-to-seat

The way we see it, that transformation should focus on the street-to-seat experience…everything that happens from the moment you get out of your car or off of the subway, or however you get to the game, until you are in your seat. That’s where the business operators working for the home team can really influence how the fans feel. After that, the play on the field, court, pitch or ice takes over.

People tend to assume that team performance is the biggest indicator influencing whether a given fan comes to another game. Certainly, if a team is dreadful to watch, it doesn’t help. But it’s really the quality of the experience that leads to fans coming back. I’ve been around teams that were historically poor performers, and people came back because they enjoy taking their families or clients to the games. It’s not about wins and losses so much as it is about fun. And that begins at the point of ingress.

I would argue that when organizations bring in Evolv, it’s more like introducing a new Jumbotron than it is a new screening system.

Certainly, they’re improving their security and the entry process. But as far as fans are concerned? That pain point at entry has been transformed. It’s a massive improvement in their visitor experience. That could mean fans coming to more games, increased season ticket renewals, or fans spending more money on food and beverages or merchandise because they get in more quickly and have more time to enjoy what’s there.

It could also mean more favorable survey results. The NFL’s Tennessee Titans saw its fan ingress satisfaction score double – from a 2.3 to a 4.6 (out of 5.0) – when its fans no longer had to wait outside for pat-downs or to take items out of their pockets after Evolv was installed at Nissan Stadium.

You buy that Jumbotron because you want your fans to have the best experience possible. And that’s also what we’re providing to an organization.

Happiness across the board

Satisfied fans are one thing. How about a better experience for your employees?

Everyone entering a venue is being screened, including concession stand workers and even players for the home or visiting team. Shouldn’t these processes have an entry experience that is just as seamless as it is for fans? We’ve heard great feedback on the employee side, where they don’t have to wait in long lines or stop and empty their bags. They say they actually don’t even realize they’re being screened because they just walk through at their normal pace. They’re happier going through the process just getting to their jobs.

Tailored venue solutions

One of the great things about sports is that every venue is different. Each stadium, ballpark, and arena has its own personality. We work hard to make sure that each Evolv system is similarly unique and appropriate to its setting. And it’s not just ingress. We work with everyone – whether they are a new partner or an existing one – to figure out where there are problems and how Evolv can help.

It could be in the kind of data we offer that goes above and beyond the insights organizations are used to getting. Security staff can use Evolv’s data to see what kind of secondary searches were conducted at the end of the night, or they can look at real-time situational information. Since all of the data is cloud-based and on an app if there is something that needs to be communicated it can be done instantly at the push of a button rather than through a complicated multi-point protocol.

Venues that host different events such as football, concerts and soccer, like Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, can use Evolv’s data to determine staffing and analyze trends for each individual event.

Throughout my career in sports, all I’ve ever cared about is improving the fan experience. As a business person and not an athlete, I knew I couldn’t control whether my team won or lost, but I could give 100% effort to make sure that every fan had a good time and wanted to return. What’s great about my role at Evolv is that I still get to do that, and at the same time, I get to keep people safe. We’re not compromising safety for a better experience, we’re keeping you safe while at the same time helping to give you an amazing experience from street-to-seat.

Evolv Technology is a mission-driven organization with employees who are passionate about the safety of others. Simply stated, we put people first — whether it’s protecting public spaces or supporting the development of our own employees. That’s why I am delighted to share that today, Evolv was recognized three times in Built In’s 2022 Best Places To Work Awards.  

In addition to being named one of Built In’s Best Places to Work in Boston, Evolv was also named one of the Best Midsize Companies to Work For and one of the Best Paying Companies. Built In’s annual awards program honors companies of all sizes, from startups to enterprise corporations in the eight largest tech markets in the United States.  

The awards measure aspects of an employer such as compensation, benefits, support, culture and company-wide programs. Evolv’s flexible work environment and strong culture helped set us apart from other companies – here’s just a peek at some of the benefits our employees enjoy: 

• Equity is an important component of every compensation package 

• Flexible work environment 

• 401(k) plan 

• Unlimited vacation policy 

• $300 per quarter to spend on the perks that are most meaningful to you 

If you want to solve one of the most difficult issues of our time and save lives doing it, you want to work at Evolv. We are passionate, knowing that what we do and how we do helps our customers keep their customers safe. At Evolv, you will have unparalleled exposure to all aspects of our business, working with a talented team of people who share our vision for a safer world.  

Don’t just take our word for it, though – hear what some of our team members have to say! 

We are continuing to grow and add to our award-winning team. If what you’ve just read sounds interesting to you, take a look at our open positions and apply today!  

John Pistole is a former administrator of the United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and a former deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

It’s hard to believe we’re staring down the end of another year – and 2022 is already shaping up to be one unlike any other. For many workplaces and industries, there’s still a feeling of starting anew after suffering so much disruption through most of 2020 and 2021. From a security standpoint, much about the year ahead is going to be like the past two years – planning and being ready for the uncertain.

Evolution of challenges and threats

As people physically return to offices in 2022, there are challenges and opportunities when it comes to safety. Most organizations have had a year (and in many cases more) to review previous protocols and think about how to revise them to meet today’s new work environment, risks and threats. In addition, the fact that most organizations are welcoming employees back in a staggered or hybrid fashion means they can test new approaches and collect feedback and data from smaller, more manageable numbers.

On the other hand, challenges and threats have evolved. For example, in years past, companies that rent office space in a high-rise could rely on security provided by the building management. That approach needs to be reconsidered given the impact the pandemic has had on commercial real estate and the need (or lack thereof) for sprawling office space.

On the threat side, experts worry we will see an uptick in workplace violence as more Americans go from working at home to back in the office. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), one of the key reasons behind the anticipated increase is that many workers continue to struggle with physical, mental and emotional stress stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Retired FBI agent Terri Patterson, a psychologist and principal at Control Risks, reinforced this when he said, “I do firmly believe that we’re still in that space where we have a workforce that is really vulnerable right now. We do believe that a stressed population is more vulnerable to becoming disgruntled or aggrieved.”

In response to these changing challenges and threats, I anticipate more companies recognizing the need to take security measures into their own hands. For mature companies, this shouldn’t be much of an issue; they’ve likely already addressed security as a corporate priority, and, as a result, included it in their annual budget. For a lot of start-ups, though, security might not have ranked high on the priority list, but will begin to move as employees and customers start demanding a safer environment. With the threat landscape changing every day, no company gets a pass when it comes to thinking about – and prioritizing – digital and physical security. 

Risk mitigation, not elimination

Every chief security officer (CSO) is worried about access control, from both inside and outside the workplace. As people return to the office, security personnel need to make sure they’re managing risks with a risk-based approach. For example, how can they make sure people with authorized access should continue to maintain that access?

On the physical security side, it’s imperative today’s CSOs and others charged with their organization’s security are planning with these new threats in mind. For example, an employee with authorized access on Friday is arrested over the weekend for domestic violence comes to the office on Monday. What is the protocol?

No matter the size of the organization, any multi-person company needs to have a strategy for security; and that strategy should be focused on mitigating, not eliminating, risk. After all, eliminating risk is a fool’s errand; it’s impossible. But having a solid and comprehensive plan for risk mitigation that is reviewed and revised on a regular basis is a must-have for any company doing business in 2022. 

One way to get started is to figure out what the biggest threats are and then identify the areas that are most vulnerable. Once that’s done, you can employ mitigation strategies or identify existing opportunities.

Immediately following the September 11th attacks, for example, many of the risk mitigation strategies centered around travel. The threat of another attack resulted in strengthening vulnerable areas in aviation, like increasing the number of federal air marshals, reinforcing cockpit doors, and differentiating passengers from high- to low-risk.

Public perception: risk vs. benefit

There is an element of convenience involved in getting people on board with security measures. When it comes to being screened, people don’t want to be inconvenienced. They don’t want invasions into their privacy or to have their movements tracked, but they do want to remain safe when they get on a flight, attend a concert, or go to work.

For the security industry, that means finding a balance in how safety and protection is offered and the impact that has on people who are not a threat.

In my experience working for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), that really comes down to the messaging, and how the measures are presented to the public. There is no one-size-fits-all solution – what works for one industry does not always work for others. Sometimes that has to do with cost, but sometimes it has to do with what’s practical in each setting. For example, airports must have multiple layers of security, many of which require people to stand in line to go through screening. Travelers know that in order to mitigate the risk of an attack happening on a plane, they have to deal with a bit of mild inconvenience. People going to work in an office are unlikely to weigh the benefits and risks the same.

For businesses and security personnel, it’s important to remember that people need to understand that there’s a trade-off in what they are willing to accept in order to remain safe. As safety and security technology improves, we are seeing more and more companies not only recognize this delicate balance, but finding ways to meet safety demands plus expectations for a seamless and convenient experience.

It is difficult to anticipate what lies ahead as we emerge from such an unpredictable two years. But we can take what we do know and use that to figure out what is most likely. For example, we know to be alert for domestic terrorism, which the FBI deems a persistent threat. And the rising rate of cyber terrorism provides a good indicator that money spent on digital security and protection is a wise investment.

The only true “known” is that risk knows no boundaries, and it can’t be completely eliminated. But it can be prepared for, and the organizations that are constantly assessing risk are the ones that will be most ready for what might come.

We sat down with advisory board member Juliette Kayyem to talk about safety, returning to public events, and the role technology plays in providing security as crowds return to public venues.

As background, Juliette is as a national leader in America’s homeland security efforts across government, academia, journalism, and the private sector. She is a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where she is the Faculty Director of the Homeland Security Project and Security and Global Health Project. 

She presently serves as a CNN National Security Analyst as well as CEO of Grip Mobility, a technology company looking to provide transparency in the rideshare industry. Juliette  has spent more than 20  years managing complex policy initiatives and organizing government responses to major crises in both state and federal government. Most recently, Juliette was President Obama’s Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.

Juliette is the founder and primary consultant of Kayyem Solutions, LLC. Her team provides strategic and operational advice in resiliency planning, risk management, mega-event security, infrastructure protection, and cybersecurity. These companies have included AirBnB, Zemcar, UPS’ Americans for Securing All Packages, CyPhy, Evolv Technology, as well as numerous financial, educational, and retail clients where she provides advice and training. Kayyem is the author of Security Mom, a memoir that explores the intersection, and commonalities, of her life in homeland security and as a mother. Her upcoming book, The Devil Never Sleeps will be published in March 2022.

Q. What do you think will change in the security industry over the next 12 months?

A.  When I think about security, it’s really about secure flow. It can be about the secure flow of networks, goods or people, for example. Everybody wants security, but you also have to let people be together. The faster and more reliably you can do that, the more security becomes integrated into how we want to live.

Over the next 12 months, I believe there will be a growing acceptance of risk mitigation. For a long time, we deluded ourselves into thinking that risk elimination was possible, yet this is not really how security professionals think of things. Instead, you want a variety of efforts to minimize risk in a world that’s always going to have risk. For example, consider COVID-19. Even if you’re vaccinated, there are lots of other actions you’re going to take depending on risk factors such as being immunocompromised or around others that aren’t vaccinated.

There’s also a certain level of risk when you go to concerts and events. It’s not just COVID-19, there’s also the risk of active shooters and the potential for a climate event such as a big wind or flash flood. This is why it’s really important that we view ourselves as mobile and become more comfortable with a variety of tactics and techniques that will minimize risk as we get together again, especially in crowds.

Q. Due to COVID-19 and the rise in mass shootings, what do you think Americans are willing to do now to enter public places?

A.  As security has changed over the years, Americans have become more sophisticated about it. Making places safer is part of a network of things going on where a sophisticated event host or entity uses a variety of tools and resources to ensure a safer environment. It’s not just one tool, it takes a toolbox to mitigate security risks. Yet sometimes the way we talk about security is a binary notion of safe or unsafe. The popular discourse on the topic has been to commercialize fear. While there’s no perfectly safe place, we have an obligation to make it safer to go to public places and I think the American public gets that.

Q. In terms of the public’s willingness to go through a screening process, where do their attitudes about technology converge and where do they diverge? 

A. What you have to keep in mind is that security was built to keep the public from conveniently moving from point A to point B. Whether it’s traditional surveillance, cargo, or a security review that requires a driver’s license for a person to enter a building, these protocols exist precisely for inconvenience.

Technology will converge with the American desire for convenience, speed, and flow. And that’s not a bad thing as long it’s part of a risk reduction philosophy. In that way, technology is going to make security more integrated into the fabric of how we want to live rather than a nuisance.

Where they diverge is in privacy. Thinking about what it means to live in today’s world with this much information can be worrisome. Technology is trying to do things to protect our identities, but I think there’s a certain amount of discomfort about where technology is taking over privacy. Much of it is simply generational as even my kids sort of laugh at the idea of privacy. Nothing is private anymore!

Q: Do you believe over the next 12 months that we’ll see adoption over hesitancy when it comes to prioritizing physical security?

A. I hope so. I’ve been working in security my whole career, and one of my biggest fears is that there’s still a separation between cybersecurity efforts and physical security efforts. The thought that the security threats either go after the wires or they go after the people is jaw dropping.

As we saw with the Colonial Pipeline incident earlier this year, a cyberattack is going to have physical consequences and we have to be prepared for that. Since no single piece of technology is going to stop all bad things from happening, we have to get better at what is known in the security industry as “all hazards planning.”

In some ways, COVID-19 may have the potential to drive this. Since we have all become so dependent on our networks there’s a growing realization that we can’t bifurcate network security from physical security.  

Q: Do you think there’s a frustration in the industry that physical and cybersecurity have not yet converged? If so, do you see it happening?

A: Yes, I think the market is demanding the convergence. We’ve had major hacks such as Sony and Solar Winds and most of the time it was about stealing information. Going back to the Colonial Pipeline incident, I think we’ll look back on it as a pivotal point in thinking about response capacity. If you remember, once it was determined to be a ransomware attack, Colonial’s only option was to shut down its entire system for six days. Prior to that, they never seemed to contemplate that an attack on the wires would have physical consequences.

I also think that company boards and insurers are demanding the convergence of physical and cybersecurity and we’re seeing more of it. Also, customers and employees will start to demand it. In my consulting work, companies have been instituting new security mandates and discovering just how much employees want it. When these companies increased their security, recruitment efforts improved significantly. For example, at United Airlines, once they instituted new safety mandates, they received 20,000 applications for approximately 2,000 flight attendant positions.

Q: We talked about security progression over the past year, do you think we’ll see any regression?

A: I think we’re going to regress as more people get together in person. When we’re together, there’s inevitably more risk. As venues fully open, there’s a risk in dropping our pandemic behaviors such as wearing a mask. During the pandemic, we didn’t see a drop off in gun violence, but we did see a drop off in other kinds of threats. It’s these types of threats that make us realize that we might not be as safe as we could be.

Q: How can we facilitate action without a lack of policy? Is it the responsibility of the businesses?  

A: The experience of feeling safer is something we should capitalize on even if the government is not demanding it. Yet if a place becomes too much of a hassle to get into, people stop going. And if it feels too vulnerable, people also stop going, as demonstrated by Evolv’s recent research. It is a fine line, but there are ways to find the sweet spot and have a market deferential. For example, technology like Evolv’s is customer friendly and we’re seeing the market demand for it.

Q: Has COVID-19 changed the security threats that we currently face? If so, how?

A: I think the pandemic has made us less safe in tactical ways. The reliance on the Internet and technology to communicate is a vulnerability that we didn’t have before. And some of the consequences of frustration and isolation through COVID-19 has led to a lack of goodwill as tension and violence increase.

On a larger geopolitical scale, COVID-19 has made us more vulnerable because of our inability to respond adequately for large portions of it and this impacts how we’re perceived by the world. It’s an irony that while the United States still remains a dream and vision for the world, particularly our immigrants, we are fragile in the context of COVID-19 and January 6, for example.

Q. Are there specific domestic or international issues we should be keeping our eyes on that impact safety?

A: I do worry about the lack of common respect for the Constitution. If you scratch the surface of our politics today, it feels like violence is right there. That concerns me as a security specialist because of the potential for radicalization, the use of weapons, and the vulnerabilities of our public officials. This is something we have not addressed adequately. While we have addressed the political and legal fights, they aren’t actually about violence and the threat of violence in our society.  

Despite all this, what gives me hope is that 77% of all eligible Americans are now vaccinated. The vast majority of Americans still think about their responsibility to each other and this makes me happy.

To read more about Juliette, visit her website and follow her on Twitter.

Today we released the results of our original research on the mental toll of gun violence in the United States. The news is not great. We must do better. Meaningful progress is within reach. It’s time for urgent, pragmatic action.

Over 80% of Americans expressed significant anxiety about gun violence. We are living in an era of unprecedented anxiety. It’s significantly more anxiety than we felt at the height of the Cold War and in the immediate wake of the 9/11 attacks. What’s different about gun violence? It turns out that a shocking number of us (29%) have personally experienced unexpected gunfire or know someone who has (38%). It’s an actual threat in every community. It’s not theoretical. It’s real. And it’s not OK. 

The root cause of gun violence and all the related anxiety is, of course, that guns are everywhere. America has more guns than people. This is not going to change anytime soon. The Second Amendment stands firm and the votes to overturn it do not exist. We cannot assume the guns will disappear someday. We need a gun violence reduction plan. . It’s time to get real. We need a pragmatic plan that keeps the guns out of shared spaces where they are legally prohibited and yet still get in and do harm. It’s time to democratize security by massively exercising the existing right to create and enforce gun-free spaces. 

Imagine a future where everywhere you go became a safe, gun-free oasis. A future, where you aren’t thinking twice about going out, or checking for nearby exits, or mentally reviewing your escape plan. What if you had full confidence that there were no guns in your workplace, school, university, grocery store, place of worship, stadium, museum, convention center, theme park, performing arts venue, casino, hotel, hospital, or government office? All these places already prohibit guns, but not all of them are able to enforce their policies. What if they could, and did? And what if they could do it in a way that doesn’t make these places feel like a prison or TSA checkpoint at the airport? That’s the future we deserve, but it’s only possible if we massively democratize security. 

Who is responsible for democratizing security? Everyone has a vital role to play: 

• The government must exercise its unique lawmaking and regulatory powers to further expand and strengthen the right and ability to create gun-free spaces. The new laws and regulations must pass constitutional scrutiny but still have an impact. Protecting property rights—specifically the rights to make spaces gun-free—is a cause that has the potential to enjoy bi-partisan support. It’s doable. 

• The people—all of us—bear responsibility for demanding more gun-free spaces and advocating for them within our sphere of influence. Our voices can strengthen the resolve of the policymakers and send vital demand signals to the marketplace. 

• All the venues and facilities where we gather must act on their duty of care by creating more gun-free spaces and more effectively enforcing their gun-free policies. This must be done without compromising the experiences that attract us to these spaces in the first place. It’s challenging, but not impossible. 

• The physical security industry, which includes Evolv, must race to create technological and process innovations that will radically drive down the cost and complexity of creating and enforcing gun-free spaces. The early results are promising. 

I firmly believe that if we work hard in the decade ahead, we can make real progress in reducing gun violence. It is not OK to go on living with this chronic fear that is gradually impoverishing our daily experiences. It’s time to protect our treasured freedoms through focused, sensible action. A vast, growing network of truly safe, totally gun-free gathering spaces feels like a good place to start. I hope you’ll join the fight to make it happen. #GoGunFree 

In the critical role of safeguarding the public, security leaders polled find two of their top challenges to be reactive approaches and subjective decision-making. While intuition and “gut-feel” are essential to protecting physical security, quantitative data can help teams support a more proactive security posture with evidence-based decisions around staffing, resourcing, training, and ConOps (concept of operations) planning.

But analog security technologies like walk-through metal detectors, visual bag scans, and wanding don’t capture information accounting for their own performance. Security teams must rely on manual counts, observation, or word-of-mouth to understand their effectiveness and even to learn what threats they are catching.

Weapons detection with Evolv Express® is different. It combines sensors, cameras, and artificial intelligence to pinpoint the location of possible weapons threats on visitors’ persons or in their bags, ignoring everyday metal items so most people can walk right through and removing the burden on guards to visually assess almost everyone for possible weapons threats.

And, as it works, Evolv Express collects and communicates quantitative data at the threshold of every venue. While most people simply walk through the system at a natural pace—avoiding long lines, unsafe “soft target” scenarios, and potential health risks from close personal contact—Evolv Express captures information about visitor flow rates, alarm rates, and threat types.

Presented in its easy-to-use companion application, Evolv Insights, these analytics help venues augment the ways they safeguard physical security with evidence-based decisions across resourcing, planning, operations, staff training, and ConOps procedures.

This infographic demonstrates the real-world impact that data can have on physical security, including improved knowledge of vulnerabilities, enhanced security ConOps, accelerated reporting to venue leadership, and better experiences for both guests and security teams.

Evidence-based decision making results not only in improved security, but in always-improving security. It enables a constantly advancing, continuously learning approach that can lead to more proactive security and operations. With real-world data from every entryway, security teams can better adapt to new threats and better meet the changing needs of their venues—and their visitors.