NBC Channel 12 in Phoenix, Arizona was live at Sonoran University where their Senior Director of IT, Paul Collins, explained how they are leveraging Omnilert’s AI visual gun detection technology to keep its campus safe from active shooters. Sonoran has been piloting the software for about a year and a half and Collins says they are pleased with the results. “When it detects a potential weapon, it reports it to us,” said Collins.
This is one of the key differentiating features of Omnilert technology because it’s the only platform that gives customers the flexibility to choose whether alerts go to Omnilert’s own monitoring center, directly to the customer’s onsite security team, or even to a third party monitoring service.
NBC’s Jen Wahl also spoke to Omnilert where she learned first-hand how important it is to make every second count. As the company explained,
“In an active shooter situation, the average time the shooter is active is 8 minutes. The average time for someone caught in the middle of that to call 911 is 5 minutes.“ According to Sonoran University’s security team “their use of Omnilert Gun Detect can find a weapon within a second and then their human security team can verify if it’s really a weapon within 2-3 seconds, alerting authorities right away. It saves time with the goal of saving lives because lockdown procedures can go into place and messaging alerts can be sent out immediately.”
The Sonoran team also explained that once a weapon is detected, a series of preplanned responses is set that includes actions such as locking doors, calling police, and activating a lockdown.
Says Collins, “We feel this is a vital part of our overall security policy. At the end of the day, it’s going to act and resolve much more quickly than we can. Its eyes are always on and it’s always monitoring…. and most importantly, it is learning. It is learning over time.”
NBC 12 covered the Sonoran story in a series of broadcast clips, two of which are included here:
In a separate story, NBC’s Wahl also sat down with Omnilert’s Director of AI, Chad Green, who revealed that he started developing the AI visual gun detection technology after his cousin’s daughter was killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting. When that event happened, he realized he needed to do something to prevent mass shootings from ever happening again. Explaining how the technology works, Green said,
“The software watches surveillance cameras around the clock that are already in places like schools, churches and other organizations. Taking real-time feeds from the cameras, the software looks at every frame of video and inspects it for the presence of a weapon. It can tell the difference between a cell phone, a handgun, a water bottle, a rifle and more.”
When pointing out the many benefits of Omnilert Gun Detect to organizations such as Sonoran, Green stated, “One security guard, who previously could only watch a few security cameras at once, can now monitor hundreds of cameras at the same time.”
You can see Chad’s interview and more information on how Sonoran University is using the software at this clip below. You can also read a detailed written case study on Sonoran’s use of Omnilert Gun Detect.
To learn more about Omnilert Gun Detect, visit Active Shooter Solution page. If you are interested in learning more about AI gun detection and our visual active shooter solution contact us now.