Gunshot Detection System Covers a Third of Pittsburgh

Gunshot Detection System Covers a Third of Pittsburgh

A gunshot-detection system hailed by the Pittsburgh police is poised to cover nearly a third of the city this year.

  • By Sydny Shepard
  • Mar 19, 2018

A gunshot-detection system hailed by the Pittsburgh police is poised to cover nearly a third of the city this year.

The Pittsburgh city council endorsed an expansion of the system to reach all six police zones, stating on the North Side. Members will take a final vote on Tuesday on the $3.38 million agreement to expand the system over the year.

The system uses microphones to monitor constantly for gunfire, relaying alerts to dispatchers even when no one calls 911. Pittsburgh began a pilot with the technology in January 2015 in Zone 5, where it tracks an area of three square miles between East Hills and Garfield.

During that time, 6,000 indications made by the technology pointed to more than 2,200 gunfire incidents, according to the Department of Public Safety. Police have made 48 arrests amid responses to the system's calls and responders have located 83 shooting victims.

"Overall, we found we are able to get to victims and to crime scenes quicker," Zone 5 police Cmdr. Jason Lando said.

He called the technology invaluable in rendering aid, location crime scenes, recovering evidence and assisting in prosecutions. Police found they had been missing some East End gunfire because residents were accustomed to the noise and don't always call 911 when they hear it.

If approved by the council, the gradual-rollout should be complete by years-end and would include about 19 square miles citywide, targeting areas that together accounted for about 80.5 percent of Pittsburgh's gunfire calls and 87.5 percent of gun-related homicides from January 2015 through December 2015.  

 

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

  • Report: 47 Percent of Security Service Providers Are Not Yet Using AI or Automation Tools

    Trackforce, a provider of security workforce management platforms, today announced the launch of its 2025 Physical Security Operations Benchmark Report, an industry-first study that benchmarks both private security service providers and corporate security teams side by side. Based on a survey of over 300 security professionals across the globe, the report provides a comprehensive look at the state of physical security operations. Read Now

    • Guard Services

  • Identity Governance at the Crossroads of Complexity and Scale

    Modern enterprises are grappling with an increasing number of identities, both human and machine, across an ever-growing number of systems. They must also deal with increased operational demands, including faster onboarding, more scalable models, and tighter security enforcement. Navigating these ever-growing challenges with speed and accuracy requires a new approach to identity governance that is built for the future enterprise. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Report: AI is Supercharging Old-School Cybercriminal Tactics

    AI isn’t just transforming how we work. It’s reshaping how cybercriminals attack, with threat actors exploiting AI to mass produce malicious code loaders, steal browser credentials and accelerate cloud attacks, according to a new report from Elastic. Read Now

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.