Creating a ‘Fire Alarm’ for Terror Attacks

The news of shoots and local terrorism are being alarming frequent and because of this anti-terrorism rapid response teams have been established. While this effort to prevent possible attacks, there is a problem with knowing when an attack is occurring. Calling 911 is crucial when an emergency is underway. However, in attacks comparable to the one seen in Paris, there can be a significant delay in emergency response merely because of the disorientation and fear caused by such an attack. Usually in situations that induce panic, dispatchers have a difficult time extraction information, such as what is going on or the exact location of the incident, from those in the surrounding area. Most individuals who are closes to the threat are the least likely to call since they are more concerned about preserving their own life.

In our time of technological advancements, a company known as SST Inc. developed a gunshot detection platform that provides indoor and outdoor gunfire recognition to help alert and pinpoint the location of an incident; the technology would also would for explosions. Ralph Clark, the president and chief executive of SST Inc, says, "authorities are alerted within 30 to 45 seconds of the first shot in an attack" as opposed to crucial minutes it would take to pinpoint the exact location. This technology, called ShotSpotter, has been incorporated in approximately 90 cities, towns and suburbs worldwide and hopefully will be integrated in more.