COBB COUNTY, Ga. — There's a new level of security at the Cobb County courthouse.
The sheriff's office has installed a new X-ray machine at checkpoints. The new Smith's Detection machine started being used Tuesday at the Cobb County Superior Court along Haynes Street in Marietta.
According to the sheriff's office, the machine uses artificial intelligence to recognize possible weapons. The machine will flag potential threats with specific alerts like "sharp object" or "ammunition."
"We've had a few firearms coming through," Deputy Douglas Gibson with the Cobb County Sheriff's Office said. "It actually labels it and then when that comes through the actual X-ray machine you can view it on that 3D scanner and it's very beneficial."
Beyond its sophisticated alert system, the machine also has the capability to detect explosive items.
"For example, if gasoline was scanned through the machine an alert would let the user know that a combustible item is in the machine," the sheriff's office said.
Cobb County courts new X-ray machine | PHOTOS
Major Rick Pierre said these new features are part of a strategic plan to secure Cobb County buildings adding that the machine's multiple cameras can deliver more enhanced images making it easier to identify items.
"It's like a CT scan, it takes a 360-degree image of the property. The person who is operating the machine is able to see that on a screen on his monitor and using his mouse (to) manipulate the image."
These features are expected to improve safety at the courthouse. According to the sheriff's office, in the first six months of this year, there were 46,693 screenings through the superior court checkpoint. Knives, firearms, chemical agents and other contraband were discovered through the screenings.
Any tray that has potentially hazardous items is recognized by the machine and will automatically be moved over to a secondary area, much like how Transportation Security Administration security machines operate at airports. Those operating the machine can also manually move the tray to the secondary area with a push of a button if they notice something potentially dangerous while scanning items.
"This is the first time a machine of this caliber has been used outside of an airport by TSA," officials said.
The county installed the machine last month and so far 10 deputies have been trained on it.
Petrie said deputies screen more than a quarter of a million people each year at the courthouse. Last year, such screenings detected more than 600 weapons.
With this new technology, that number could go up - but that's not necessarily a bad statistic, officials said, as it proves that the screenings are working.