Add as a preferred source on Google

What Does It Take To Add Gunshot Detection Services To Your Facility?

  • By Allan Overcast
  • 05/01/18

You will need to look at your facility and identify what classrooms, hallways, entrances, and exits that you need covered. Decide how many sensors you need. Each sensor will detect within a certain range, for example 2500 square feet. Indoor sensors will generally be placed in hallways and entrances at an absolute minimum because statistics indicate that shootings occur or start in the entrances or hallways. In businesses you’re going to want to place sensors in areas where people congregate the most, because if a crime is going to be committed it generally will be focused in an area that has a larger populace. Examples would be in a lunch room or in a large open atrium area where a lot of your coworkers hang out.

The second consideration is, are you adapting your existing alarm panel or are you going to have to put in an additional network system to support the sensors? Some sensors have integrated contact closures that can tie directly into your alarm panel, therefore minimizing the need for an additional new system. You also need to determine how you want the message to go out. Look for sensors can send IP message notification over SMS, email, and other notification means.

In conclusion, when considering a gunshot detection system for your facility, the main focus should be the size of your facility, the number of sensors that you want to put in those facilities in the high-traffic areas, and the message notification style whether it’s alarm panel integration or and/or if it includes IP message notification.

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management May 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

About the Author

Allan Overcast is owner/CEO of Shot Tracer Technologies, Inc. (www.shottracer.com). He can be reached at [email protected] or 866/636-8867.

Featured

  • Los Angeles City College Breaks Ground on New Administration, Workforce Building

    Los Angeles City College (LACC) in Los Angeles, Calif., recently broke ground on a new $72-million administrative facility, according to a news release. The Cesar Chavez Administration and Workforce Building will stand four stories, cover 67,230 square feet, and play home to a wide variety of the school’s educational and administrative services.

  • Construction Begins on East Austin CTE-Focused High School

    The Del Valle Independent School District recently announced that construction has begun on a new CTE-focused high school in Austin, Texas, according to a news release. Del Valle High School will measure in at 473,338 square feet and have the capacity for 2,400 students.

  • Elevating Campus Maintenance: How Power Wash Drones are Transforming Educational Facilities

    As today’s campuses grow larger and more architecturally complex, keeping exteriors clean, safe, and inviting has never been tougher. Facilities leaders are under constant pressure to stretch budgets, meet safety standards, and support sustainability goals—all while tackling the stubborn challenge of exterior cleaning.

  • StarRez Releases 2025 State of Student Housing Report

    Student housing software solutions provider StarRez recently released its second State of the Student Housing Industry Report, according to a news release. The report is based on the results of survey data from more than 400 higher education institutions around the world, both StarRez clients and not.