ROANOKE, Va. – A shooting that sent one man to the hospital is renewing concerns over gun violence in Roanoke — and renewing hope around a recently approved gunshot detection system.
Just two days after the incident, attention is turning back to the city’s decision to move forward with RAVEN Sensors, an audio-based detection system designed to alert Roanoke City Police to gunshots in real time.
Roanoke City Council voted 5-2 last month to move forward with program as part of a broader effort to reduce gun violence — but the decision continues to draw scrutiny from some residents who question the technology’s reliability and its implications for privacy.
“They’re to go along with the other preventative work we’re already doing,” said Roanoke City Mayor Joe Cobb.
How the system works
The 75 devices would be installed across Roanoke, with priority given to areas with higher rates of gun violence.
Deputy Chief of Operations Adam Puckett said the placement of sensors was not arbitrary.
“Its data driven. We did not randomly pick these 75 sensors and put them in places that we feel were appropriate,” Puckett said. “We had our analyst team do a map of where the most active calls for service were for gunshots and we overlaid that map with these sensors.”
Police also stressed that the devices are not cameras and do not continuously record. According to police, they are activated only by specific sounds — such as gunshots or car crashes — and capture short audio clips that are deleted after 21 days.
Puckett said the urgency behind the technology is critical.
“I have been with the city for 22 years. We have seen multiple people show up at Roanoke Memorial Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds — we were never notified until they reached the hospital,” he said. “Time is of the essence and it’s important we get to those localities quickly.”
Community pushback
Not everyone is welcoming the change. Several residents raised concerns at the council meeting about privacy and the technology’s reliability.
Roanoke City resident Bill Baker worried about the potential for surveillance to expand over time.
“Once you open that Pandora’s box for a camera, then people are free to just put more and more out there and your privacy goes further and further away,” Baker said.
Others questioned the accountability of the private company behind the technology.
“This is a private company, and they don’t really show you how their model works a lot of the time, because they don’t have that same public accountability a public company would,” said Megan Lisle Peterson.
Resident Scott Duvall raised concerns about potential misuse of the data.
“This is a tool set that isn’t always used perfectly. There are cases of wrongful arrests, profiling, and officers stalking ex-partners using the data available,” Duvall said.
Some residents also pointed to a similar technology reportedly implemented and phased out in Martinsville, Virginia, in 2025 — citing questions about the system’s effectiveness.
City leaders acknowledged those concerns directly.
“I know there’s been some talk about Martinsville. I reached out to the command staff there, and there is some accuracy to it,” Puckett said. “One of the things that concerned them is it only detected like eight shots when 28 shots were fired.”
Cobb said the city intends to monitor the program closely.
“We’ve certainly heard from citizens who are concerned about this, and we will monitor this very closely with the police department, and if we need to make any modifications to it, we will,” Cobb said.
What’s next
The program will run under a two-year grant, meaning the city will bear no upfront cost. However, how the program performs during the grant period could determine whether it continues long term.
As of now, the city has only completed the first step — approving encroachment permits. Contracts still need to be finalized before any devices are installed. 10 News will keep you updated as the story develops.