SAVANNAH, Ga. – Two school systems are conducting pilot projects with a new technology that can pinpoint gunfire in the event of a school shooting, which school officials said would give first responders a tactical advantage over intruders.

The Collage of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia is working to implement “ShotSpotter” technology – a gunfire-detection system – in school buildings later this year after installing the system on two square miles of the school’s outdoor areas, USA Today reports.

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“If we can provide multiple layers of protection for our campus, we’ll do it,” John Buckovich, the college’s chief of public safety, told a meeting of police chiefs last week. “The implementation … is not because of a single event, but has been an extensive assessment dating back two years.”

ShotSpotter utilizes acoustic sensors to pinpoint the location of gunfire to quicken the response from police and emergency responders, and has been used in about 85 cities over the last 15 years, according to the news site.

The cities have used the outside detection system to crack down on high crime areas, but technology for the indoor system – which must measure gun shots against other similar sounds like books or lockers slamming – only became available over the last 18 months. Outfitting a typical elementary school with the technology costs about $50,000, USA Today reports.

“You are talking about a matter of seconds and an officer knows where to go,” said Camden County police chief Scott Thomson, adding that officers are often notified about a shooting before it’s reported to 911. Three-quarters of the Camden’s nine square miles are covered by gunfire detection technology.

Other law enforcement experts believe the capabilities of the indoor technology could revolutionize police response to all types of public places.

“It should be part of the building codes going forward,” South Bend, Indiana police chief Ronald Teachman told USA Today. He said he envisions the technology benefitting places like shopping malls and movie theaters, as well.

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“These attacks are happening with such consistency that it is likely to happen in your community,” he said.

“Research could tell us how fast the response actually is if we detect gunfire in Rooms 1, 21 or 19,” Terry Nichols, assistant director of Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training at Texas State University, told USA Today.

“In addition to predicting how quickly we could stop the threat, perhaps more importantly we could determine the increasing speed with which first responders are getting to the wounded and getting them critical care to increase survival,” he said.