South Coast Today

NEW BEDFORD — Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter today presented the city a $50,000 check toward the cost of ShotSpotter, the gunshot detection system.

Sutter said at a City Hall press conference that the funds are coming from his office's asset forfeiture funds, which is money seized mostly from drug dealers.

The money is going towards the $142,000 annual fee that New Bedford must pay to maintain ShotSpotter.

The district attorney said the system, which cost $950,000 to implement, has helped to reduce gun violence in New Bedford and has greatly improved response time by New Bedford police to shots fired calls.

“It's an extremely effective law enforcement tool,” Sutter said.

Mayor Jon Mitchell commended Sutter and said the district attorney contacted him about helping to fund ShotSpotter.

“The district attorney's offer to assist the city to pay for an important crime fighting tool reflects real out-of-the-box thinking about our public safety challenges,” Mitchell said.