The sound of gunshots
Don't panic if you hear gunshots in Charles Village today. Authorities are testing a new system that could allow police to pinpoint gunshots using sound. It is a similar to a system used in 30 cities around the country, including Washington, which has linked the ShotSpotter network to its surveillance cameras.
Johns Hopkins University sent out this alert today:
Pilot Gunshot Detection SystemThe new SECURES detection system is being tested today in the area of 29th and Charles streets, where 90 detector boxes have been installed on streetlights and elsewhere. The system, developed by a Reston, Va. firm, works by tracking gunshots via senor technology, and audibly alerting the university's communications center, enabling campus security and Baltimore police to immediately respond. The system is designed to add another layer of protection to the Homewood and Charles Village communities. It is possible you may hear the testing. Police specialists will be firing rounds into sand-filled dump trucks at 11 locations in the detection system area. There will be no danger.
The noise sensors, according to the Washington Post, are about the size of coffee cans and are placed on top of buildings. They can identify gunfire within two miles. Other cities that use the system are New Orleans and Los Angeles. The Post reported that the DC department hopes to link the network to alert police officers through their car computers, to help them get to the scene even faster. It cost $2 million to put the system into just one D.C. police district, according to the Post.
Comments
There are some other solutions out there. NetLogix, Sound and Optics, and Safety Dynamics are a few.
Posted by: Sgt. Parmalee | November 17, 2008 10:38 PM
Charles Village, which has extra security from campus police, gets the first gun shot system in Baltimore!? How many guns are fired in Charles Village compare to West Baltimore? Similar systems exist in other cities, so the argument that's bound to come up that this is testing is not valid. It should have been installed in an area that is actually impacted by gun violence on a regular basis, even if it is a "pilot" program.
Posted by: Citizen | November 18, 2008 10:52 AM
Thanks for the note. I did mention in my blog that Charles Village isn't the best place to start with this gunshot indicator (only 22 reports of gun discharges reported in the area so far this year). But the city has reservations about the technology and Hopkins is getting it for free as part of as sales pitch by the company.
The university could have had it installed in a more violent neighborhood, but then again, administrators also have a duty to their paying students. And who knows, maybe the new devices will pick up more gunfire than is actually reported, as has happened in other cities.
Posted by: Peter Hermann | November 18, 2008 11:14 AM