Society: Early warning system proposal

Let’s say you are arriving at the campus parking lot. You have a test coming up and you have to remember to read chapter 18 before Thursday. The parking lot seems a little quiet as you leave your car. You sense something but you can’t tell what it is, or worse you don’t notice anything and continue on as usual. It’s that feeling of uncertainty that I propose this system.

Let’s set the conditions that we’ll consider fixed. First we’ll assume the average person does not check their email before leaving in the morning. Next we’ll assume that your cell phone is usually off. And finally we’ll assume you are rushing and short on time. Not let’s redo the scenario.

You arrive on the campus parking lot. The campus seems a little quiet, but since it’s almost the weekend it doesn’t seem that uncommon. As you enter the parking lot you passed by the school’s electronic billboard. Info on different school activities flash across it. As you continue out of your car you notice a security guard on patrol. As you continue into the campus you see an alarm button mounted on the wall under a security camera. The alarm button is operated by a fingerprint scanner. Along with these devices are sound scanners. These operated by comparing ambient sound to gunfire signatures stored in its database. Finally the school has a student task force which allows specific student to carry concealed firearms. Not let’s discuss each devices inherent flaws and weaknesses.

The electronic billboard can be disabled by cutting the power, but that would at least signal something wasn’t right. You would think the sign was broken, but it would at least get your attention. Fortunately the sign is connected to a backup generator if the cities power is interrupted. The alarm button’s fingerprint scanner can be used by students and non-students alike. All that device needs is a valid print to register, which is then recorded and time stamped. Today’s fingerprint scanners can be easily fooled by an elaborate process of taking an existing print and transferring it to a medium which can be grafted over your thumb. Fortunately the camera becomes active when the button is operated. The camera would not let a masked individual near the system without drawing attention to them in the first place. The alarm button and camera are also connected to the backup generator. The sound detector would also be connected to the generator, and it would be loud enough to be heard from the parking lot. The sound detector would be calibrated to pickup the sound of the ricochet which would lower the false positive rate. Let’s look at the privacy implications of the system.

The information recorded by the all of the devices are encrypted and stored off the premises at a data center. Much like the data centers that store commercial internet hosting, they would be staffed by guards at all times. The information is not viewable or transferrable unless by warrant. And the data is purged at the end of each month. The information is not archived. Now let’s take a look at the biggest concern with the system; the student task force.

The testing of individuals for the right to carry concealed weapons is done at federal standards. Individuals must agree to a comprehensive physiological and background checking, and must undergo the same firearms training that the police undergo.

When any system becomes activated, the system sends the necessary alerts to any first responders on both the campus and the city by its interrelated network with both the city and the media. It’s actually necessary to alert the media as well since they have the greatest reach to alert both the people at home and the ones still in commute.

Systems like this can be implemented with off the shelf equipment. The devices are integrated together with software, and then networked to the data center. The pricing could range anywhere from 50-100k and possible take 1-3 years to implement based on how elaborate the system is and the size of the campus. Hopefully a system like this wouldn’t be required in the near future, but eventually the need will arise long before the issues of gun control or mental health in society are solved.