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

  • Tufts University Breaks Ground on Two New Residence Halls

    Tufts University in Medford, Mass., recently broke ground on two new residence halls with a total capacity of 664 beds, according to local news. The project’s ultimate goal is to expand on-campus housing and reduce pressure on the local housing market.

  • Three U.S. Universities Install Acre Security Access Control Platform

    Cloud-native physical and digital security solutions company Acre Security recently announced that it has deployed its access control platform at three major universities in the U.S., according to a news release. Acre partnered with Atrium Campus to provide coverage for more than 69,000 students at the University of Virginia (UVA), George Mason University, and Rockhurst University.

  • FAU Starts Construction on Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building

    Florida Atlantic University recently began construction on a new academic building for its campus in Boca Raton, Fla., according to university news. The Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building will stand two stories, measure in at 22,000 square feet, and play home to the university’s Holocaust education and Jewish studies programs.

  • A university

    Breaking Higher Education's Billion-Dollar Backlog Problem

    Strategic mechanical system design can transform campus maintenance backlogs. Here's how.

Digital Edition