Gunfire situational awareness expands through broader use of ‘ShotSoptter’

SST, Inc., the maker of ShotSpotter Flex and a supplier of gunfire detection, location, alerting and analysis systems, announced on May 20 that its client base grew and coverage area increased by 20% in the first four months of 2014.

To date in 2014, the company added ShotSpotter coverage in five new metro areas and expanded existing deployments of ShotSpotter in several other cities. A total of 45 square miles were added, representing an increase in total ShotSpotter active coverage from 222 square miles to 267 square miles in the U.S.

New cities that have just recently contracted to deploy ShotSpotter include Worcester, MA; Miami, FL; South Bend, IN; Wilmington, DE and Bayamon and Trujillo Alto in Puerto Rico. In addition, the communities of Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Revere and Somerville in the greater Boston area will be implementing ShotSpotter as part of a pan-regional effort.  These deployment areas total 32.4 new square miles of ShotSpotter coverage.

Worcester, MA has the distinction of being the 50^th customer now using the new ShotSpotter Flex service. The city is deploying six square miles in order to provide enhanced public safety to its 200,000 resident population. This new deployment was made possible by a combination of mitigation money the city received from CSX and matching funds from the city’s public safety budget.

Watch a video about the use of ShotSpotter in Richmond, CA:

“This is a great example of public and private sectors partnering to step up and amplify police efforts to reduce gun violence in the city,” stated Worcester Chief of Police Gary Gemme. “The safety of our community and the well-being of our citizens continue to be our top priorities.”

Three existing ShotSpotter-deployed cities expanded their ShotSpotter coverage areas including Boston, MA; Milwaukee, WI and Wilmington, NC. These expansions total 12.4 new square miles and demonstrate the continued success these cities are realizing in their gun violence abatement efforts.

“When law enforcement officials and city leaders work together with their communities to develop a comprehensive approach to attacking gun crime, they are doing their utmost to ensure that their fellow citizens enjoy the basic human right of personal security and quality of life,” said Ralph Clark, president and chief executive officer of SST, Inc. “We are proud to partner with them in this effort.”

SST offers ShotSpotter Flex as an affordable annual subscription service that is a hosted, cloud-based solution. With the subscription service, city agencies no longer have to fund the purchase of expensive capital equipment or maintain the equipment after installation.

Included in ShotSpotter Flex is SST’s Reviewed Alerts Service, which provides immediate review and qualification of all gunfire incidents by ShotSpotter-staffed and trained gunshot acoustic experts.

Among the key benefits delivered by ShotSpotter Flex are:

• Instant, accurate situational awareness — Precise gunfire incident information enables informed      decisions for faster emergency response while also improving situational      intelligence and increasing first responder safety.
• Enhanced forensics analysis and crime analysis — Detailed forensic data and intelligence improves the      investigative process leading to more thorough investigations and enhanced      prosecutions for gun-related crime.
• Incident expert qualification — A highly trained team of gunfire acoustic experts at      the SST Operations Center review and qualify all incidents immediately and      pass valuable, actionable gunfire incident data to 9-1-1 dispatch centers      and mobile police units enabling enhanced response.
• Long-term crime deterrence — Awareness of all gunfire incidents and cumulative data      enables proactive crime analysis and strategic deterrence.