Making cities safer with smart technology

Public safety is a priority for communities and citizens alike, especially those living in metropolitan areas. While an issue as complex as public safety doesn’t have an easy fix, cities worldwide are thinking outside the box to create programs that build safer communities. For many, this includes embracing smart technology.

Sensors, for example, are widely used to manage the impact of natural disasters, as well as ongoing support efforts such as air quality improvement, traffic management and water conservation. At the same time, smart city technologies are evolving to address public safety issues beyond the scope of natural disasters. This includes a compelling use case: gunshot detection.

Gunshot detection sensors can provide law enforcement with the data needed to improve emergency response time, the ability to better apprehend the right suspect and identify and anticipate threats. While, of course, technology can’t prevent crime altogether, this is a breakthrough use case that can improve public safety and ultimately save lives.

Speeding up response time with more accurate information
Gunshot detection works by using smart sensors mounted on buildings and poles or embedded into streetlight fixtures. These sensors listen for acoustic anomalies and eliminate echoes, bounces and false detections, such as fireworks. When a shot is fired, law enforcement receives a report almost instantaneously with insight into the location of a firearm incident within two meters. The report will also include a short audio clip and images from the camera nearest to the shot location. This provides law enforcement with the ability to know who the shooter is, so the right suspect is apprehended as well as being more responsive to victims and support the community bystanders.

Beyond providing short-term support, when the data collected from sensors is combined with the power of data analytics and machine learning, law enforcement can implement a more proactive strategy to combat gun violence. By analyzing incident patterns and incorporating variables such as location, time, and weather conditions, it is possible to anticipate when, where and under what conditions firearm incidents are most likely to occur. Law enforcement can then make the best use of their resources by focusing on the areas that need them most. Overall, these gunshot detection programs help to strengthen community relationships as the precision response removes the ambiguity of details and help remove threats from the community.

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