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Police Department Gets Green Light for a Gunshot Detection System in Winston-Salem

The grant funded system, once set up, would pinpoint any discharge of gunfire in real-time.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Monday, Winston-Salem City Council members gave the green light to the Police Department to accept a federal grant for a gunshot detection system.

Police Chief Catrina Thompson said the department applied for the federal grant offered to local law enforcement through the National Crime Gun Intelligence Center Initiative. 

Once set up, the gunshot detection system will identify and pinpoint any discharge of gunfire in real-time, according to Chief Thompson. Thompson told council this would allow law enforcement to respond to the location sooner, even without a citizen calling to report the incident.

The grant amount for the system is $699,608.

So far this year, Winston-Salem Police say officers responded to 1,708 shots fired calls. On average, that's more than five a day. 

Every time there's a call, dispatchers and first responders scramble to find the exact location, and get officers to the scene as soon as they can. Even on their best days, it could take several minutes to respond. If someone is wounded, those minutes could be the difference between life and death. 

"I've been on the streets and witnessed gunshots," said Lieutenant Gregory Dorn, "When the first 911 call comes three or four minutes later, that is the amount of time we can drive somebody in a car to Baptist Hospital."

Lt. Dorn says the new technology will definitely help response times. Sensors will immediately notify police and dispatchers where and when gunshots are detected. The alert would go straight to phones and computers. 

"The system is going to use various different audible detectors, and it could really pinpoint where gunfire is," he explained. 

When it's installed, the system will cover a three-mile radius. Police will determine the sensor location based on spikes in gun crime. If the crime trend shifts locations, so can the technology.

Setup for the gunshot detection system will start early next year after the department selects a product and a vendor.

According to its website, the National Crime Gun Intelligence Center Initiative is a project of the National Resource and Technical Assistance Center for Improving Law Enforcement Investigations (NRTAC). 

The initiative supports local law enforcement in preventing violent crime, identifying perpetrators, linking criminal activities, and identifying sources of gun violence for immediate disruption, investigation, and onward prosecution. The initiative is in collaboration with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

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