DEPARTMENT: POLICE
DEPARTMENT HEAD: ANTHONY L. TREVI?O
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: CITYWIDE
SUMMARY:
Briefing on Gunshot Recognition Devices Pilot Program
BACKGROUND:
Public safety organizations continuously search for ways to improve their ability to gather and track crime data in an effort to improve service to citizens. Gun violence, and associated gunfire, is among the top concerns of any law enforcement agency. Gunfire is said to be under reported due to citizens being hesitant to contact the police, or mistakenly assuming other individuals will notify law enforcement. It is likely most law enforcement agencies do not have accurate information regarding the number of gunfire incidents within their jurisdiction as there is not a way to track gunfire incidents which are not reported by citizens. One means to overcome such under reporting issues is the use of technology which can help law enforcement identify, locate, and report instances of gunfire. By utilizing technology to assist in this way, the under reporting due to relying on citizen reports is minimized and the agency's ability to respond to and track gunfire incidents is maximized.
There are currently two companies that focus on gunshot recognition in various cities around the country. The companies are ShotSpotter and SENTRI. Each provides the capability to monitor areas that have gun shots; ShotSpotter is the larger of the two. The sensors detect explosive events and, by means of triangulation, fix on the position of the event. The data is transmitted to a central monitoring facility where a ShotSpotter technician reviews and analyzes the information. If gunshot(s) are confirmed/detected the central monitoring system will inform/Dispatch SAPD. The alerts can be sent to our communications center and thus have officers dispatched, or it could be sent to the in-car laptops so officers nearby the incident could respond.
SENTRI's system consist of individual units with inco...
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