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Springfield police have long suspected that shots fired have largely gone unreported. Now, they have proof.
ShotSpotter is detection technology that can determine when gunshots have been fired by using various acoustic sensors to determine where the shots have originated from within a 25-meter radius.
According to the SJR, since going live in May, the unit has detected 654 shots in a 4.25 square mile section on Springfield’s east side, where the majority of gun violence occurs. However, only 35 calls reporting those shots were received within 3 minutes and within 300 of the incidents, representing about 5.4%. In cases where the calls came in within 15 minutes within one mile of the incident, there was a slightly better response -49 calls or 7.5% of the total number of shots fired in the area.
The technology has been beneficial in generating data for SPD. For example, almost 70% of the shootings occur between 7 pm, and 4 am, and a little over half occurred on Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday. However, there is a substantial price tag. Back in April, the city agreed to pay $75,000 for the technology this year and $284,375 a year for the next two years for a total of $643,750.
According to Springfield Police Chief Kenny Winslow, the big takeaway is the police need more community involvement. While ShotSpotter can tell police when and approximately where shots were fired, it cannot provide a description or name of the potential shooter.
Source: SJR
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