ShotSpotter helps police put gunfire in the crosshairs
February 26, 2009
Birmingham News
Birmingham, AL
BIRMINGHAM, AL -- Patricia Henderson remembers when gunfire would erupt in her Green Acres neighborhood and police would take several minutes to arrive.
Now she's seeing a change.
"The response time is better," said Henderson, the Five Points West Community president.
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"When you call police, they go directly to the point. When we used to call, they couldn't go directly to where the shooting was going on."
It is one of the advantages Birmingham police are crediting to the ShotSpotter Gunfire Detection System. Officers are now getting gunfire calls directly from dispatch and getting to the exact location of the shots faster.
However, the department wants to make the system even more useful in bringing down random gunfire in Birmingham.
The ShotSpotter works by using sensors to pinpoint gunfire on a map. Officers can then be sent to the scene, without waiting for a citizen's complaint.
Between July and December, the ShotSpotter - which can tell the difference between a bullet and a firecracker - identified 6,300 incidents of gunfire. It detected 1,415 incidents of gunfire in January alone. Many of those occurred on New Year's Day.
In operation for about a year, ShotSpotter has led police to four arrests and two homicide victims. Deputy Chief Ray Tubbs said the department wants to maximize the system's effectiveness to make more arrests and has recently been meeting with ShotSpotter company officials and examining how other cities use it.
Although police response times are faster, shooters scurry soon after firing their guns, making it hard for officers to make arrests, he said.
Tubbs said it is still important for residents to cooperate with police to catch shooters. Police received 4,800 calls from residents citywide who reported gunfire last year, much less than the ShotSpotter registered in the eastern and western areas where it is operational, he said.
"That tells us gunfire is being underreported," said Tubbs, adding that some neighborhoods may have become desensitized to the sound of gunfire.
Tubbs said the department wants to expand ShotSpotter into other areas and is trying to identify sources of funding. It takes at least 10 sensors within a square mile for the system to work properly, according to ShotSpotter officials.
Police are considering using the system's data to allocate resources to areas where gunfire is concentrated.
"Our goal is for people to sit on their porch in the evening time and enjoy life without worrying about gunfire," he said.
Erin Lopez |
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