Gunshot Detection
Faster awareness, faster response
Gunshot detection adds an additional layer of incident awareness for businesses in higher-risk environments. Each sensor combines acoustic detection with infrared muzzle flash detection. Both must trigger simultaneously, giving you greater than 99% accuracy with far fewer false alarms than acoustic-only systems.
How gunshot detection works

Dual-sensor detection
Each sensor combines a microphone that listens for the acoustic blast with an infrared sensor that detects the muzzle flash. Both must trigger simultaneously, dramatically reducing false alarms compared to acoustic-only systems.

Immediate alerting
When gunfire is detected, alerts are sent instantly to designated contacts and can trigger automated responses like lockdowns.

Integrated response
Detection events integrate with your security system for coordinated response: triggering video recording, access lockdowns, and professional monitoring dispatch.
Why dual-sensor detection changes the response equation
The standard timeline in an active shooter event runs like this: shots are fired, surviving witnesses call 911 if they can, dispatch verifies the call, and officers are deployed. Median police response time in the US is 7 to 10 minutes in urban areas, longer in suburban and rural environments. FBI active shooter studies consistently document that these events unfold and typically end within minutes, often within seconds of the first shot. Every second between that first shot and the moment your building begins its response is a second during which people are making decisions without information. This system collapses that gap, identifying the event in under a second and triggering your configured response automatically before anyone has dialed a phone.
Traditional security infrastructure records and documents incidents but doesn't accelerate the response. A camera feed requires someone to be watching it. A panic button requires someone to reach it. This system requires nothing from the people in the building at the moment of the event. Each sensor combines a microphone listening for the acoustic blast with an infrared sensor looking for the heat signature of a muzzle flash, and both must trigger simultaneously to generate an alert. That dual-confirmation is what produces the system's greater than 99% accuracy rate and near-elimination of false alarms. Acoustic-only systems are tripped by a car backfire through an open loading dock door, a heavy dropped object, or a slammed dumpster lid. Those sounds have the acoustic profile of a gunshot but no muzzle flash. A camera strobe or heat source has infrared signal but no acoustic event. Only an actual gunshot produces both at once, which is why false alarms with this system are exceptionally rare. Each sensor covers 2,500 square feet without requiring direct line-of-sight to the event.
For businesses in higher-risk environments, the liability question is increasingly relevant. Property owners and employers have a duty of care obligation to provide a reasonably safe environment, and documented investment in appropriate safety infrastructure matters when incidents are reviewed by insurers, regulators, and in litigation. A business with gunshot detection, automated lockdown procedures, and a documented emergency response plan is in a materially different position than one that relied on witnesses calling 911. This technology complements staff training and emergency procedures, not replaces them. But "we had the technology and the training" is a meaningfully different position than "we had the training."
Key capabilities
Rapid incident identification
- Detects gunshots within seconds
- High accuracy with low false positive rates
- Works in indoor environments
- Covers large areas with strategic sensor placement
Automated workflows
- Trigger video recording on detection
- Automatic door lockdown capabilities
- Mass notification integration
- Professional monitoring dispatch
Platform integration
- Works with Alarm.com security systems
- Events visible in unified dashboard
- Correlate with video footage
- Historical event logging
Easy installation
- Self-install with clear instructions
- Integrates with your existing Alarm.com system
- No professional installer required
- Support team available if you need help
Designed for sensitive environments
Gunshot detection is particularly valuable for schools, healthcare facilities, houses of worship, large retail spaces, and corporate campuses where rapid incident awareness can save lives.
This technology complements comprehensive security planning, training, and emergency procedures.
Part of a complete security solution
Gunshot detection works best as part of an integrated security approach. Combine it with intrusion detection, video surveillance, and access control for comprehensive protection.
Learn more about gunshot detection
Gunshot detection sensors are easy to install and integrate with your existing Alarm.com system. Contact Surety support to discuss whether this technology is right for your environment and get guidance on sensor placement.