Roanoke council approves 75 Flock 'Raven' acoustic sensors despite privacy and accuracy concerns

Roanoke City Council voted 5–2 on April 20 to adopt an ordinance permitting the installation of 75 Raven acoustic gunshot‑detection sensors from Flock Group Inc. (doing business as Flock Safety) in public rights‑of‑way across the city.

Supporters, led by Deputy Chief Puckett of the Roanoke Police Department, said the sensors are intended to reduce response times to outdoor gunfire by triangulating loud acoustic events and alerting officers even when no caller reports the incident. “It is gunshot detection, and we are requesting 75 sensors citywide,” Puckett said, adding the department overlaid locations of past “shots fired” calls with sensor coverage to select sites. He told council the project would be funded through a federal Byrne grant and run under a two‑year contract; staff estimated the grant expenditure at roughly $57,000.

Opponents in the public comment period pressed council to reject the encroachment. Megan Lyle Peterson, a resident who addressed the council at the…