Hopewell city officials are considering a proposal to install "ShotSpotters," high-tech surveillance cameras that can identify gun shots and swivel to its source.

The acoustic sensor cameras can distinguish sounds like fireworks from gun shots. Once a shot is detected, the cameras point in the direction of the sound and alert police.

Police Chief Steve Martin says the equipment would cover a two-mile radius. It would cost the city about 22 miles southeast of Richmond roughly $300,000.

Officials from Washington to New Jersey have installed the cameras, which are roughly the size of coffee cans and connect directly to police dispatchers by wireless radio or telephone lines.

Hopewell officials could approve the cameras next month.