A Virginia-based company has developed a system for universities that distinguishes a gunshot from other sounds that could raise alarm, such as a car backfire.
A new acoustic gunfire detection system called SECURES, which is able to discern gunfire from other loud noises like fireworks or car backfires, is being tested at Johns Hopkins University.
"It gives the staff and students a peace of mind," said Tracey Reeves, John Hopkins spokeswoman.
About three to five seconds after gunfire is detected, law enforcement and other first response teams would be able to locate the event within 10 feet.
Planning Systems Inc., the company that developed SECURES, donated the equipment to the university, which will activate the system tonight, Reeves said.
The company hopes to extend its technology to larger schools around the country like UF, she said.
However, there have been no talks about implementing the system on UF's 2,000-acre campus, said Steve Orlando, UF spokesman.
"But anything that could help campus safety isn't a bad idea," Orlando said.
The University Police Department receives gun scares from people who may have confused the noise with something similar in pitch, said Capt. Jeff Holcomb, UPD spokesman.
In the past two years, there were a few calls from people who saw what they thought was a weapon but may have been a toy gun, Holcomb said.
Even though a campus may receive notice of where the gunfire came from, the timing of the system may still not be quick enough, he said.
"We tell people that any time that they see something on campus to give us a call because UPD may be able to respond faster than the detection system," he said.
