ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke City Council voted yes Monday night on installing gunshot detection devices around the city.
The vote approved an encroachment permit for the Roanoke Police Department to install what police call “Raven” audio detection devices in the public right-of-way at multiple locations.
Police say they plan to install 75 audio-only devices, provided by Flock Safety, in what they call data-driven, high-crime areas, and that the system is event-triggered, not continuous recording. The system does not monitor conversations.
Police say data is stored securely and deleted under state law unless its needed as evidence. Members of the community say the measure is too much.
Similar gunshot detection devices were used in Martinsville but were phased out in late 2025 due to performance issues.