More Schools Installing Gunshot Detectors That Alert Authorities When Gunfire Is Heard.

The Washington Post (9/16, Frankel) reports schools across the country are using technology to detect gunfire to try to prevent mass shootings. Some schools in California, Ohio, and Virginia have installed gunshot-detection acoustic sensors in classrooms that can pinpoint the location of a gunshot and alert authorities. Some educators have praised the devices as a way to increase student safety comparing them to fire alarms, while others are critical that their appearance in classrooms is a “tacit admission that school shootings have become an unavoidable part of the American landscape.” Others criticize the systems for not being cost-effective, because despite their expense nobody claims they can actually prevent shootings just possibly alert authorities faster.