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Zion council approves gunshot-detection partnership and a peer-support program for officers
Summary
Council approved a three-year continuation with Flock Group for gunshot-detection/LPR technology and a three-year contract with We Never Walk Alone for officer peer support; the measures passed unanimously after the chiefs described alert counts and program features.
The Zion City Council on June 4 approved a three-year agreement with Flock Group for gunshot-detection and related technologies and separately approved a three-year peer-support and mental-health program for officers run by We Never Walk Alone.
Police leadership described the combined technology and support approach as a way to improve response times and officer resilience. Chief Barton said the department has used Flock’s systems alongside license-plate-reader technology to receive immediate alerts directly to officer computers and consoles; he cited roughly 581 alerts logged over the past year, including about 201 single-shot alerts, 86 multi-shot alerts and 294 fireworks alerts. “We get the information direct from the software to software right to the computers,” Barton said, describing average notification times of roughly 20 seconds in many incidents.
On officer mental-health supports, Barton outlined the We Never Walk Alone program, which offers 24/7 access to peer support, “nearly 125 mental health professionals,” online self-assessments and anonymized pathways to care. The transcript lists program costs variously; Chief Barton cited a per-officer cost of $30 per year and a three-year total of $5,580 (transcript also references an annual figure of $1,860 and at another point $2,860 — see clarifying details). The council approved both agreements by roll call (5-0).
Why it matters: the measures combine technology intended to speed emergency response and investigations with services aimed at officer mental health and retention. Councilors asked about detection accuracy, the number of alerts and coverage area and were shown a described coverage map centered east of Lewis and west of Galilee from 21st to 33rd Streets.
Next steps: the city will finalize contract documents and implementation details; staff said they will continue to monitor alert types and work with neighboring communities on shared alerts and vehicle identification.
