ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown Police are set to get $1.5 million in state grants to buy technology that its developer says can triangulate gunshots and send officers toward them in about a minute.
That money also will fund the Allentown Police Department’s purchase of license-plate readers and new fingerprint technology.
- Allentown police said they plan to use a $600,000 grant to buy gunshot-detection technology
- Residents urged City Council to fund gun-violence prevention measures, too
- APD officials said they expect to get a $900,000 grant next year that would fund license-plate readers and other technology
City Council unanimously approved a measure July 19 that lets the city’s police department accept a grant of just over $600,000 from the state Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
The police department expects to get a grant of about $900,000 next year through the same agency, department Captain of Administration Kyle Prammer, said.
“I love the idea that the APD is working with (a state agency) for this type of equipment. But just imagine if we had that $1.5 million for violence prevention to match what they're doing. Things would be so different here in our community.”Jeani Garcia, an advocate with Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley
Police Chief Charles Roca called the new technology “life-changing” and said it is “going to assist us in making the streets of Allentown safer.”
The gunshot-location system will allow officers to respond quicker while collecting more data and supporting “the community’s efforts in reporting crime,” Roca said.
‘Raven’ tech
The police department plans to buy gunshot-detection technology from Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based company that creates hardware and software to capture evidence of crimes.
Flock Safety says its gunshot-detection system, known as Raven, can “transform” a police department’s responses to gunshot reports and improve its “ability to solve and prevent gun-related crimes.”
“This is a technology that's often used to monitor bird populations. I'm kind of astounded that it's being used in this capacity to monitor the people of Allentown."Allentown resident Neil Singh
The system can alert police to gunshots in under a minute and send them locations within 90 feet of where those shots were fired, the company says.
It also has a 90% success rate — that means 90% of the noises the technology determines to be gunshots actually are gunshots and not firecrackers or other similar loud sounds, Prammer said.
The Raven technology uses an algorithm that is “constantly learning” from the noises it falsely detects as gunshots, he said.
Each Raven audio detector can cover a quarter-mile, according to the company.
Flock’s gunshot-detection technology is being used in more than 1,500 cities across 42 states, Prammer told Allentown Council members.
Roca said he believes the system will “break down silos” between police and residents and “remove apathy from any community that is hesitant to report crime.”
Residents: Invest in prevention
Jeani Garcia, an advocate with Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley, urged council members to also support preventative measures.
“I love the idea that the APD is working with PCCD for this type of equipment,” Garcia told council. “But just imagine if we had that $1.5 million for violence prevention to match what they're doing.
"Things would be so different here in our community.”
“This is something that we need to do collectively. We are ready to work with Allentown Police Department; we're ready to work with the folks behind us. It's not just one organization. It's not just one person."Jeani Garcia, advocate with Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley
Garcia, who lost a son to gun violence in 2012, was pressing council to release money it set aside in the 2023 budget to fund credible messengers, who work with victims recovering from shootings and their families.
“This is something that we need to do collectively,” Garcia said. “We are ready to work with Allentown Police Department; we're ready to work with the folks behind us. It's not just one organization. It's not just one person.
“But we have to talk about this money … and we have to get it started.”
Pas Simpson called the gunshot-detection technology a “reactionary model” and echoed Garcia’s calls to release funding for the credible-messenger program.
Simpson said he’s worked to secure funding from federal and state sources, as well as Allentown School District private donors, while waiting for the city’s funding to be put to use.
He urged council to seize its “opportunity to do something different” by funding prevention measures.
'Very invasive' monitoring
Neil Singh told council members he is familiar with the gunshot-detection technology because it’s similar to what he uses as a wildlife biologist.
"I find this to be — in this scenario — a very invasive form of monitoring and policing in the community.”Neil Singh
“This is a technology that's often used to monitor bird populations,” Singh said. “I'm kind of astounded that it's being used in this capacity to monitor the people of Allentown.
"I find this to be — in this scenario — a very invasive form of monitoring and policing in the community.”
He also implored officials to give “equal consideration” to preventative measures, “especially when we’re using new technology like this to monitor our communities.”
Allentown police officials told council members they are also looking to buy license-plate readers with PCCD grant money.
Flock Safety says its automatic license-plate readers capture a slew of vehicle-related information it inputs into a database that officers can search.
The “vehicle fingerprint” technology uses machine learning and “computer vision” to record a vehicle’s make, model and color; license-plate information, including whether it’s missing or covered; and unique features, such as a roof rack or bumper and window stickers, according to Flock’s website.
Flock says its technology can capture details from 150 feet away on cars that are going up to 100 mph.
