WHITEVILLE, N.C. (WECT) – The Whiteville Police Department is working on installing gunshot sensors across the city.

The sensors come from Flock Safety. Whiteville already has Flock license plate readers installed, and the gunshot sensor devices will be connected to those readers.

The gunshot sensor device is called the Raven, and Whiteville Police Chief Doug Ipock says 15 are already set up around the city. The sensors can help decrease response times for police by three to five minutes.

“The ultimate goal is to reduce crime and obviously protect the citizens within the community,” said Ipock.

The Raven works by listening out for high-decibel noises and alerts the police when a noise is detected, providing them with the time and location where the gun went off.

“It’s nice to know that we are getting this technology out. It’s nice to know that it’s going to be working 24/7, 365 days a year, it never takes a day off,” said Ipock.

According to Ipock, the Raven cannot listen in on conversations because most conversations are not loud enough for the Raven to pick up. The device can hear when a 9mm gun goes off, which sets an output of 160 DB, while the average conversation ranges from 55 to 60 DB.

Ipock says it’s been a two-year-long process getting the Raven set up and he is happy the project is nearing completion. He says the project was set in motion when city leaders approached him telling him about complaints of gun violence and people firing their weapons.

He says the new sensors could lead to more arrests if an arrest is needed for a situation. The sensors will cost the department $12,000 a year.

“Gun violence is something that’s very dangerous to anybody, so we want to make sure that anytime we have the ability to use something to help us catch that criminal and potentially put that criminal behind bars, yes we want to utilize it.”

Ipock says the city received several complaints about gun violence and shots fired in certain areas around Whiteville. He says the areas with the most gun activity are where the sensors are located. Each sensor can cover a 1/4 square mile distance.

“We’re trying to use technology in a way that’s going to benefit the community,” said Ipock. “We had the council members involved early on, they sat through demos with us they saw the process we were looking at and they were able to see the actual technology in use,” he added.

One sensor is located outside of Central Middle School/ North Whiteville Academy. Ipock says over the past two years the school has had to go on lockdown twice because of nearby shots fired calls.

“It gives up a level of peace and confidence that we are in a position that if somebody does something, we’re in a better place to be able to catch that person,” said Ipock. “We’re excited, but hopefully we never have to use it,” he added.

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