MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Martinsville Police installed 140 gunshot detectors throughout the city to help combat crime.
The department received an $80,000 grant from the Attorney General’s Operation Ceasefire to install the new technology.
Martinsville Police Chief Robert Fincher said the department could determine how to use they used the funding, but it had to be used toward technology that would assist the prevention or investigation of gun violence. Other options for using the funding were camera systems and analyzing ammunition.
“This is a part of the Operation Ceasefire Virginia that what we are doing. We’re trying to reduce gun violence in Virginia and in particular, in Martinsville and a couple years ago we were selected as a Ceasefire city and although it hasn’t been a tremendous problem as of late, any improvement that we can to help reduce gun violence is an improvement for everyone,” said Fincher.
The gunshot detectors use sound detection and triangulation. The detectors can help determine sounds that match the audio frequency of a gunshot. When a gunshot occurs, multiple detectors work together to help officers determine the location from where the gunshot was fired.
Chief Fincher said this new technology will help his department because it will immediately notify officers. He said sometimes after someone calls 911, the suspect is gone before the officer arrives.
“The whole idea is that if we can make it known that we will have this super-fast response that if someone fires a gunshot then maybe someone would think twice about doing it or maybe if a crime does occur involving gun violence, then our response if quick enough to get the perpetrator while they’re still on scene and prevent future crimes,” said Fincher.
He said this year, the police department had about eight gunshot calls, including for self-infliction and suicide. They had 27 calls for people hearing gunshots in general.
The new gunshot detectors were installed by a company called Flock Safety, which also installed license plate readers in Martinsville about two years ago. Flock Safety installed license plate readers in Lynchburg and Roanoke City too. The cameras are currently not running but Fincher said they will be in the next few weeks.
The new technology is located throughout the city.
“We basically started at the center of the city and went outward in a radius to cover the maximum area that we had for the grant that we received and then where the particular locations that the detectors go is based on the company’s experts to get coverage for that area,” said Fincher.
They are in fixed locations, but they are not permanent.
10 News spoke with Fincher about some of the safety concerns people have in Martinsville.
“So, I understand their concerns. It was one of my concerns. I did not want to install something that could be used for other things like monitoring people, but in examining the system it’s set to just that certain frequency range that even if you’re right beneath it talking it can’t detect you. so we shared that we want to make certain that it does not infringe on people’s rights,” said Fincher.
Fincher also said they’re looking at using technology that would allow officers to hear someone’s 911 call with an operator in real-time.