Woonsocket Housing Authority to install gunshot detection system
by: Jusolyn Flower, Alex Torres-Perez
WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — The Woonsocket Housing Authority (WHA) is set to implement a new audio system to help detect gunshots in the Fairmont neighborhood.
Woonsocket will be the first city in Rhode Island to install the AI-powered Flock Raven, which is a device designed to notify police in under a minute of a gunshot fired within 90 feet.
But why?
According to the WHA, a shooting occurred at the Veterans Memorial Housing Complex a few months ago. However, upon reviewing the surveillance video, they realized police had interviewed the shooting suspect without even knowing it.
“We take security very seriously here,” WHA Executive Director Todd Boisvert said.
This prompted them to invest in installing the nearly $10,000 technology.
Flock Raven will cover a quarter-square mile from the development into the Fairmont neighborhood. After a shot is fired, the devices will send officers a five-second audio clip and work in conjunction with the previously installed Flock cameras. The recordings will allow officers to provide “human verification” that a shot was fired.
Flock Safety Director of Community Affairs Hector Soliman-Valdez said the devices will also provide law enforcement with “triangulation.”
“This is where the shots were fired and then there are some potential license plates if there’s a vehicle involved or associated with the shooting,” Soliman-Valdez explained.
If a vehicle is not involved, police will have access to WHA’s 130 surveillance cameras to aid their investigations.
Like Flock cameras, Raven devices will have a limited 30-day retention period before being deleted. Officers will need a case number and reason to sift through archives.
“I think this is a step in the right direction to try to make the community safer,” Boisvert said.
Although there are some privacy concerns, the company stressed that the devices are not always listening.
“These are only activated and only send out five-second clips if it hears something that is a gunshot,” Soliman-Valdez said.
The system can also distinguish between fireworks and gunfire.
WHA hopes to have the Raven devices fully functioning in the next few months. If successful, they plan to install them in more public housing properties.