Nathan Dula, Security Marketing Manager, Garrett Metal Detectors explains how metal detection enhances security in corporate and public spaces.

The evolution of metal detection

Metal detection threat screening can evoke mixed reactions when encountered or discussed.

While these ubiquitous threat screening devices help secure our courthouses, stadiums, airports and more, they can also be perceived as inconvenient, intrusive or even just plain outdated.

However, news travels slowly in the world of security and perceptions can also become outdated.

Technology has come a long way since the 80s and modern walk-through detectors bear only a superficial resemblance to the antiquated machines that live in the minds of many security professionals.

Compared to their predecessors, new-generation detectors are more efficient, less invasive and easier to use.

To get the busy security professional up to speed on the latest developments in security screening, this article will lay the groundwork by reviewing common (mis)conceptions about security screening, examine the global realities that drive the continued demand for metal detectors threat detection and explore how modern detection technology bridges the gap between security and comfort.

Screening technology

Even among security professionals, keeping up with developing technologies can be a challenge, so it should come as no surprise that the public has lagged even further behind in its understanding of the capabilities of this widespread technology.

To many, metal detectors are still the industrial, hard-edged boxes used to screen prisoners.

For the non-security experts who manage our public spaces, this can generate fears of inefficiency.

For the concerned citizen, this can dredge up worries about pacemaker safety, privacy and even personal space.

Beyond that, many people associate these long-standing symbols of security with an elevated threat atmosphere.

Just because these concerns do not accurately reflect the state of metal detection security screening, does not make them unimportant or the worries invalid.

Unaddressed concerns and clumsy implementations may make innocent patrons feel bullied or harassed.

Poorly managed screening may discourage entry into the secure environment – a potentially massive problem for voluntary spaces like retail stores and sporting events.

Perhaps worst of all, failing to understand and address these doubts may cause patrons and staff to resist and mistrust important security policies.

The reality is that the world is not – and does not feel – safer than it was ten years ago.

Distrust, anger and violence are on the rise in many countries and while security technology cannot be the cure for our societal ills, it is important to be sober about the response that these challenges demand.

Not only is the risk level rising, but the pervasiveness of violent security threats is increasing.

Schools, theaters and corporate buildings that would not have historically used metal detection for security screening are now actively weighing the risks of not doing so.

Deter and detect

Despite the concerns that some have, walk-through metal detection solutions have become an increasingly common response to this global moment.

The principle behind these machines is simple – even as the technology they house becomes ever more advanced: deter and detect.

The portal of the walkthrough arch and the promise of full-body screening has deterred millions from bringing contraband into secure areas.

Guns and knives aren’t the only threats deterred though, as security staff have often found that even nonmetal contraband, like alcohol and drug paraphernalia, will be abandoned just to avoid the risk of discovery.

Detection is at the heart of the walkthrough’s purpose though and metal detectors bring a unique combination of people-screening strengths to the table: they are relatively affordable, giving them more mass-market appeal than expensive X-ray and millimeter wave devices; they are safe for screening people (yes, even with pacemakers), unlike x-ray machines; and they can “see through” human tissue, allowing them to detect objects concealed in the body or between limbs, unlike millimeter wave devices.

So, while metal detection is not the one-size-fits-all solution for security screening, they are nonetheless an effective and practical solution for many applications.

Effective solutions are worth adopting, but the key balance is to make security screening a guard of normal life, not a disruptor of it.

A full security ecosystem

As technology marches on, so have the customers.

In high security applications around the globe, metal detectors are combined with access control technologies like badge scanners and turnstiles to enforce a clean entry and exit – protecting from weapons and theft simultaneously.

For employees not cleared by the metal detector and badge scanner, the turnstile won’t allow entry, thanks to the integrated outputs from the screening technologies.

Some large US stadiums employ metal detectors to quickly and painlessly screen large numbers of guests without bogging down entryways with unneeded divesting.

On the other hand, customers who take security lightly will still find themselves facing pushback and negative community reactions, as poorly trained staff and uninformed guests can negate benefits of more advanced technology, throttling throughput or compromising security.

So let’s dispense with outdated ideas about what our security screening can do.

Modern metal detection is efficient, unintrusive and easy-to-use.

They have an important role in modern security applications of all kinds, from game-day stadium safety to high-security data centers.

Security professionals – and the public – can rest easy.

This technology, like all the others, will continue to improve, becoming more integrated, more intelligent and more effortless.

By keeping aware of these advancements and communicating them clearly, organizations can foster a welcoming and safe environment for everyone.

Advanced metal detection

To see how far metal detection has come since the clumsy boxes of the 80s, take the Garrett Paragon walk-through metal detector as a recent example.

Released in 2023 by Garrett Metal Detectors, its advanced feature set is far more representative of the state of modern metal detection than many of the legacy models still found in courthouses and airports around the world.

It is more efficient: its 66-zone count detection is twice that of the previous generation, allowing for rapid secondary screening.

It is unobtrusive: while metal detection has always been relatively unintrusive among security screening technologies, its Quick-Q program allows patrons to keep phones, wallets and keys on their person during screening while still detecting firearms and very large knives.

It is easier to use: Paragon is programmable instantly, touchlessly and securely via Zero Touch NFC technology, in much the same way that you might pay for groceries at the store.

This is only touching the surface of the many ways in which modern metal detectors like Paragon can exceed previous generations.

Advanced integration capabilities, remote control and monitoring, integrated power supplies and extreme environmental resistance all set these modern machines apart, to say nothing of the major strides made in detection precision (modern detectors can find objects smaller than a pair of earbuds).

About the author

Nathan Dula is the Security Marketing Manager for Garrett Metal Detectors.

He has written articles for multiple security publications on topics including landmark security and checkpoint security strategy.

This article was originally published in the special ISC West 2025 March edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.