SST, Inc., the maker of ShotSpotter Flex™ and the global leader in gunfire detection and analysis, recently announced the launch of SecureCampus™, an unprecedented gunfire detection system designed to provide both indoor and outdoor coverage at university and school campuses and other critical infrastructure locations. SecureCampus instantly detects gunfire and notifies law enforcement, campus security personnel, on-site staff, and other first responders, allowing them to quickly mitigate active shooter situations as soon as possible and minimise lost lives.
Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, Georgia is the first university in the country to roll out an external and internal installation of SecureCampus, and has worked to ensure that it will be in place for the 2014-2015 school year. Prior to the rollout at SCAD, SST conducted extensive proof-of-concept testing for SecureCampus at several other school locations over the last year.
“Our goal everyday is to create a safe university experience while retaining the open environment that makes SCAD an innovative place to learn and grow,” said John Buckovich, chief of the SCAD Department of Public Safety. “SecureCampus will go a long way in helping us achieve that goal. It gives my team, the Savannah Chatham Police Department and federal law enforcement agencies another tool to make SCAD safer.”
SecureCampus Accelerates Real-Time Response to Active Shooter Scenarios
SST SecureCampus removes critical minutes from response times using proven gunfire detection technology, providing first responders with the tactical information they need, usually within 30-45 seconds, to mitigate and rapidly eliminate the threat. Unlike any other solution, SecureCampus provides police with critical real-time situational awareness data such as:
- Detailed campus map, allowing law enforcement to arrive to exact locations,
- Chronological mapping of gunfire, to understand the attack second-by-second,
- Location of shooter(s) and number of rounds fired, pinpointing exact location of attack,
- Location(s) of injuries, helping to expedite medical treatment.
Because schools are designed to insulate sound, it is extremely difficult for school personnel with limited exposure to firearm discharges to make an immediate, accurate assessment of the gunfire threats.
SecureCampus collects location information from audio receivers placed inside and outside of school buildings such as in classrooms, cafeterias, hallways, open areas and playgrounds. In addition to contacting the local police and emergency personnel with the information, SST can also send school-wide SMS alerts and help initiate lockdown procedures.
Facilities using SecureCampus benefit with 360-degree detection capabilities including:
- Full detection of a wide range of sharp acoustic events (e.g. explosions, subsonic, supersonic gunfire),
- Multiple sensors, providing accuracy and context to each incident,
- Incident detection, anywhere within coverage area,
- Multiple-sensor and multiple-round incidents bundled and displayed as single, unified incident,
- No on-premises equipment other than sensors,
- Managed, cloud-based system requires no customer overhead; includes remote and transparent updates and support,
- Court admissible evidence case law with proven accuracy.
“We at SST take protecting our children and our communities from potential threats very seriously. As new threats are presented, security initiatives and technology have continued to evolve, making it easier to apply practical solutions to protect students and teachers on school campuses,” said Ralph A. Clark, CEO of SST, Inc. “We know that not just minutes, but seconds, are important when responding to an active shooter incident. We designed SecureCampus to help local law enforcement and onsite personnel act quickly with accurate information to diffuse and mitigate the situation should an event occur.”
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