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Alaska Police Equip Patrol Vehicles with Automated Shot Detection
State troopers deploy real‑time gunfire sensors across major corridors
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✍️By ZRIntel Editorial Team📍Anchorage, Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) To bolster response times and enhance situational awareness, the Alaska State Troopers have announced the installation of automated gunfiredetection sensors in 50 patrol vehicles, primarily along the Seward Highway and Anchorages downtown corridor. The sensors, provided by ShotTrack Technologies, use acoustic and vibration data to pinpoint the location of gunshots within a 1,000meter radius and relay precise GPS coordinates to dispatch centers. According to Colonel Stephanie Marks, head of the Alaska State Troopers, the pilot program aims to address Alaskas disproportionate rate of rural and urban gun incidents. Early detection and accurate location data are critical in our vast and challenging terrain, Marks said. These sensors will provide first responders the exact coordinates of a shooting event, reducing the time victims are exposed to ongoing danger and expediting lifesaving medical intervention. The program, funded by a federal Byrne Justice Assistance Grant, has already recorded nine activations in its first week, including stray bullets in suburban neighborhoods and a vehiclemounted assault near Eagle River. Critics, including civilliberties advocates, express concern about potential privacy implications, arguing that acousticsensor networks could pick up nongunfire sounds and trigger false alerts. Troopers counter that the sensor software distinguishes gunfire signature profiles from fireworks, thunder, and other impulsive noises with over 95percent accuracy and allows officers to verify alerts via incar video systems. Anchorage Police Department Chief Diane Oswald has praised the collaboration as a national model for integrating technology and policing in sparsely populated regions.