NCJ Number
201480
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 30 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2003 Pages: 136-139
Date Published
July 2003
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes a new tracking system that is designed to alert law enforcement agencies that a gunshot has been fired and pinpoint the location from which it was fired.
Abstract
The On Alert Gunshot Detection System (GDS), designed by Synchros Technologies and marketed and distributed by Proxity Digital Networks, was based on technology created for use as a power grid management system. The GDS picks up the sound of a gunshot and within seconds triangulates the gunshot’s location and transmits the information to the local police department. It was created to allow officers to get to the scene of a gunshot quickly and to assist in gunshot investigations, such as the investigation of the DC snipers. The system works through the placement of four to six sensors in the desired area. When a gunshot is fired, the sensors come to life and triangulate the sound off the sensor and back to the source. The GDS calculates how fast the sound traveled to determine the shot’s location. It can also predict the bullet’s final resting place to within 10 feet. The article offers results of testing with the GDS, such as that it runs at over 50 percent accuracy in detecting gunshots, and in some cases is accurate 80 to 90 percent of the time. The article concludes by predicting future uses for similar systems that could be programmed to detect virtually any sound.