The Johns Hopkins University will become one of the first colleges in the country to use a system of sensors around its campus that will enable police to instantly pinpoint the location of shootings.
City police were testing the system yesterday in anticipation of a formal unveiling Thursday, with a weapons instructor firing shots into a city dump truck filled with sand at 11 different locations. In a memo notifying students about the shooting exercise, the university said 93 detector boxes have been installed on streetlights and other locations throughout the Homewood and Charles Village communities to "add another layer of protection."
The SECURES Gunshot Detection System, developed by a Reston, Va., firm, works by tracking gunshots through sensor technology and alerting the university's communications center, enabling campus security and Baltimore police to immediately respond. The sensors can track gunfire to within 10 feet of the discharge and distinguish gunshots from other city sounds, such as engine backfires and fireworks.
"It allows us to respond much faster than if a citizen hears a bang and calls 911," said Maj. Dennis L. Smith of the Northeast District. "If I can respond to a discharging call even 30 seconds faster, maybe I'm that much closer to catching the guy with the gun."
SECURES was donated to Hopkins as the company seeks to attract attention from college campuses across the country, Hopkins spokeswoman Tracey Reeves said.
More than 30 cities across the country use some form of the gunshot-sensing technology, including Washington, which said last summer that it would expand its use of a program called ShotSpotter. George Washington University uses the sensor technology in conjunction with police there, but Hopkins will be the first to use SECURES.
By accurately locating shooting scenes, the technology helps police search for forensic evidence and helps patrol officers locate victims and corroborate intelligence, said George Orrison, director of marketing for security technologies for Planning Systems Inc., which sells SECURES. It also helps pick up shootings that might not be reported.
"If they're gonna fire a gun, someone's gonna come respond. It's no longer in the background noise," Orrison said.
Sheryl Goldstein of the Mayor's Office on Criminal Justice said other companies have demonstrated the technology for the city, with "uneven" results.
