Clay impressed with ShotSpotter's performance

May 17, 2006 

GARY — The sound of gunfire in broad daylight would normally result in squad cars circling the area looking for the shooter.

The shots fired in a field behind the Teamsters Union Local 142 building on Tuesday were orchestrated by a Gary police officer as part of a demonstration of the Shot Spotter to Gary Mayor Rudy Clay and Deputy Mayor Geraldine Tousant.

The Shot Spotter uses technology to detect where the gunfire was located. Scott Manderville, chairman of Shot Spotter, Inc. which has a corporate office in Santa Clara, Calif., said the system was installed in Gary a year ago today.

“When shots are fired, one of the installed sensors will immediately light up and alert dispatchers at the safety facility building as to where the shots rang out. And officers will go to where the shots were fired,” Manderville said.

“Officers will know where the shots are fired before a resident dials 911.”

Acting Gary Police Chief Alpha Stewart said there are 18 Shot Spotter sensors throughout the city.

“The Shot Spotter has been very effective for our officers, especially with the response time. Response time is better because the Shot Spotter can immediately locate where shots were fired,” Stewart said.

Gary Police Cmdr. Nathaniel Brannon said one example of the success of the Shot Spotter occurred on New Year’s Eve in the Dorie Miller housing development.

“We confiscated a lot of weapons and made about 27 arrests that night,” Brannon said. Cmdr. Mike Nardini added that the Shot Spotter also helps during investigations after the shooting.

“If we have a case involving a shooting, we can go back to the computer system and track the time of the shots fired,” he said.

When pressed, police did not give specific examples of how a crime was solved using the Shot Spotter. However, they said the system has helped in instances where they were investigating a case involving gunfire. When they looked into the system, they said they could get the time span as to what time and where the shots were fired.

Stewart added that this demonstration was also arranged because of the upcoming addition of Shot Spotter video integration with the sensor detection.

“That will probably come sometime next year,” she said.

Clay was impressed with the technology, saying that such devices will help make Gary a quiet city.

“We can find out where the shots were fired and the police will come out and get you,” he said.