def expand_boxes(boxes, scale):
    """Expand an array of boxes by a given scale."""
    w_half = (boxes[:, 2] - boxes[:, 0]) * .5
    h_half = (boxes[:, 3] - boxes[:, 1]) * .5
    x_c = (boxes[:, 2] + boxes[:, 0]) * .5
    y_c = (boxes[:, 3] + boxes[:, 1]) * .5

    w_half *= scale
    h_half *= scale

    boxes_exp = boxes.copy()
    boxes_exp[:, 0] = x_c - w_half
    boxes_exp[:, 2] = x_c + w_half
    boxes_exp[:, 1] = y_c - h_half
    boxes_exp[:, 3] = y_c + h_half

    return boxes_exp