Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), the Platinum Award Winner for Best Gunshot Detection Solution in the 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, has been selected by a 20,000 student University in the Southeast, for installation of the company’s Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection and Reporting System.
The Active Shooter Problem and the Gunshot Detection Solution
The SDS system was chosen over several bidders due to its proven performance history at other large universities, its zero-false alert history and its certified integrations with several of the University’s current security technologies.
The system of gunshot detection sensors will be installed throughout the campus buildings to alert campus police immediately to shots fired with the location of the event, as well as activate cameras in the area to give campus police a visual overview of the event.
(Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System acts on real-time gunshot detection and alerting protocols, reducing response time and saving lives in the event of an active shooter incident. Courtesy of Shooter Detection Systems and YouTube)
With gunshot detection alarms tied into Avigilon Control Center Mobile, Campus Police will receive automated video feed of the incident area direct to their mobile phones.
“In light of last week’s tragic school shooting, we are proud to be able to work with this University to protect their students and faculty by providing police with critical information for rapid response to a shooting event,” explains Christian Connors, SDS Chief Executive Officer.
“Within a few seconds of the shot, this system will send live video feeds of the incident directly to Campus Police allowing them to immediately identify the shooter and help rapidly bring the event to a close.”
ISO Networks, a Certified SDS Partner since 2014, will install the sensors, perform the technology integration, and support the Guardian System for the University.
It is an unfortunate fact that mass shootings by disturbed individuals, lone wolf or terror attacks are a reality of modern life around the world.
The goal of these attacks is to do as much damage to as many people as quickly as possible.
According to the ALICE Training Institute, most active shooter cases last just five to seven minutes with a person killed every 5-15 seconds.
Considering it typically takes 3-5 minutes before someone dials 9-1-1, the results of an uninterrupted active shooter is extremely devastating in a very brief period.
(Hear from Shooter Detection Systems’ CEO Christian Connors directly about their innovative gunshot detection technology. Courtesy of Fox 25, Shooter Detection and YouTube)
Given the rapid devastation an active shooter causes, one of the most important strategies to employ when building an active shooter response plan is a mechanism for immediate, factual recognition of gunshots and simultaneous alerting to a shooting in progress to reduce response time and save lives.
The second key factor for both first responders and those directly affected by the threat is arming them with immediate, dependable, and actionable information.
Instant notification of where shots were fired, a description of the shooter, and the shooter’s direction offers the situational awareness necessary to make lifesaving decisions in the face of chaos.
For Law Enforcement this allows for faster, informed response to swiftly respond and mitigate the threat, taking time away from the shooter.
This information is equally important for building occupants so they can make the best decisions possible to save their own lives.
Shooter Detection Systems (SDS) has an automated, dependable solution to address both key problems facing active shooter response in the Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System.
Guardian simultaneously detects gunfire and immediately relays this information via floor plan map with shot location, text, e-mail, and other notification pathways directly to first responders and building occupants, with no human interpretation needed and with zero false alerts.
With security systems integration, the Guardian System calls up surveillance cameras in the incident area, starts lock-down procedures, sends mass notification alerts to desktops and mobile devices, and provides immediate notification to Law Enforcement.
With automated actions tied to accurate gunshot detection alerts from the Guardian system, we remove the “human factor” so that nothing is left to interpretation and costly delays can be avoided.
Technology History and Market Adoption
SDS is comprised of a targeted team of business, tactical and multi-disciplinary systems engineering experts who collectively have over 40 years of experience with acoustic gunshot detection systems that were developed for military applications.
While working at a major defense contractor, the SDS team handled the successful production and delivery of over 10,000 gunshot detection systems to Iraq and Afghanistan.
As a result of sniper attacks on the U.S. power grid, these same systems have been deployed to protect critical infrastructure and mitigate disaster in the event of crippling power loss by a sniper attack.
Understanding the immediate need for technology to address the active shooter threat, the team began investigating how their experience designing acoustic detection technology could be applied indoors, offering a solution to this difficult and emerging problem.
With a nation on edge in fear of the active shooter, false alerts and uninformed, panicked evacuations based on false alerts would not be tolerated.
When the difficulties in applying acoustic technology in an indoor environment were examined and thoroughly tested, the acoustic technology alone was found to have an unacceptable false alert rate.
Even with the robust capabilities of the outdoor system, which detects gunshots and filters out loud noises on vehicles in the battlefield and even on helicopters, an acoustics-only approach for indoor was insufficient.
The team’s efforts resulted in the Guardian System, incorporating the proven military acoustic technology fine-tuned for indoor gunshot acoustic signatures with infrared gunfire flash detection to produce the world’s highest performing, fully automatic, and most accurate indoor gunshot detection technology available.
Through its unique hardware design, Guardian is easily installed into existing building infrastructures through flush wall/ceiling mount or surface mount for impenetrable structures and the system configuration is fully scalable to the area of coverage desired.
The Guardian sensor’s superior acoustic technology in this dual modality offers the highest rate of detection while bringing the number of false alerts to zero.
The Guardian System was built with security systems integration in mind, offering organizations flexible notification options from the smallest school notifying local law enforcement to the largest enterprise customer notifying global security teams immediately of a shooting event.
SDS has key strategic partnerships with Tyco Security Products, Johnson Controls, Genetec, Everbridge, and Avigilon and proven, fielded integrations with leading-edge security systems such as VMS, access control, and mass notification, and simple contact integrations for zone alerting to alarm panels and automated alerts to digital security radios.
(See a simulated school shooting at a Massachusetts school demonstrating what “active shooter” technology could do to help police catch a gunman if the horrible threat ever strikes as it has at other schools across the country. Courtesy of the Associated Press and YouTube)
Guardian is the most widely installed indoor gunshot detection system available in the market.
SDS is the only gunshot detection provider that has indoor gunshot detection installations and proven technology integrations in use at customer sites in airports, schools, Fortune 500 corporations, museums, municipal buildings, court systems, major utilities, manufacturing plants, luxury mixed-use property management sites, and many other government and private buildings.
True to SDS’ reputation as the world leader in gunshot detection technology, The Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System is the only gunshot detection solution to be SAFETY Act Certified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Summary
Once an active shooter threat is perceived or recognized, precious seconds are lost when decisions must be made in the face of a terrifying situation.
Without gunshot detection to effectively automate alerts and take other integrated security actions, even the best active shooter response plans require human interpretation of gunshots, being in direct proximity to the threat, or reacting to someone reporting “shots fired.”
Without gunshot detection, someone must act to initiate the steps practiced in active shooter training.
In the Washington Navy Yard shooting’s after-action report, they concluded that the security guard in the video room did not notify anyone because he froze and didn’t know what to do, even though he was well trained.
This is not an uncommon human response for even the best trained first responders.
The reality is that entrusting panic buttons, 9-1-1, lockdown procedures, video surveillance and other security actions to start off even the best active shooter preparedness plan is not enough.
The Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System is a solution that can set these practices in motion and save lives when seconds count.
Product Highlights
- SAFETY Act Certified by D.H.S.
- Dual Factor Authentication – Zero False Alerts
- Fastest gunshot reporting product available – Under one second
- Floor plan map of facility with instant shot location information
- Easily integrated into any network using standard Power-Over-Ethernet
- Integrated with leading-edge security systems: VMS, Access Control, Mass Notification, Mobile Applications, Digital Radios, Alarm Panels, Contact Integrations
- Requires extremely low network bandwidth
- Less than 1 watt power draw
- Fits into standard 4-inch electrical box
- Flush mounted in ceiling or wall
- Surface mount for concrete/brick structures
- Features simulation and training modes
- Made in the U.S.A.
Shooter Detection System Wins Platinum in 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program
AST focuses on Homeland Security and Public Safety Breaking News, the Newest Initiatives and Hottest Technologies in Physical & IT Security, essential to meeting today’s growing security challenges.
The Annual ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, is organized to recognize the most distinguished vendors of Physical, IT, Port Security, Law Enforcement, Border Security, First Responders, (Fire, EMT, Military, Support Services Vets, SBA, Medical Tech) as well as the Federal, State, County and Municipal Government Agencies – to acknowledge their outstanding efforts to ‘Keep our Nation Secure, One City at a Time.’
To Learn More about the ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, see 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Award Winners Honored at ISC East.
Over 100 distinguished guests from National, State and Local Governments, and Industry Leading Corporate Executives from companies allied to Government, gathered from across North America and the Middle East to be honored from disciplines across the Security Industry in their respective fields which included:
- The Department of Homeland Security
- The Department of Justice
- The Security Exchange Commission
- State and Municipal Law Enforcement Agencies
- Leaders in Private Security
Recognized for their Innovative Training and Education Programs, Outstanding Product Development Achievements and Exciting New Technologies to address the growing Homeland Security Threats our Nation is facing.
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards at https://americansecuritytoday.com/ast-awards/.
American Security Today will be holding the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Luncheon to honor Nominees, Finalists and Winner in November 2018, in New York City.
To learn more about the Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System please visit http://shooterdetectionsystems.com/products/guardian/, or go to the company website at http://shooterdetectionsystems.com/.
For ‘ASTORS’ Sponsorship Opportunities and More Information on the AST 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, please contact Michael Madsen, AST Publisher at: mmadsen@americansecuritytoday.com or call 732.233.8119 (mobile) or 646-450-6027 (office).
