Mayor De Blasio and Police Commissioner Bratton Launch New Gun Detection Technology

NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner William J. Bratton today announced the deployment of new gunshot detection technology that will decrease officer response times to gunshot incidents and enhance community and public safety. NYPD will pilot the ShotSpotter system in five zones of approximately three square miles each located within various precincts in the Bronx and Brooklyn. The first pilot area to go operational on Monday, March 16, 2015 will be in the Bronx.

“Thanks to the NYPD, New York City continues to be the safest big city in the world—and this technology will help us stay even safer. Today’s announcement builds on the department’s long tradition of introducing pioneering techniques to reduce crime, and will transform the way the NYPD responds to gunshot activity in our neighborhoods. ShotSpotter will help protect our residents, our communities, and our police officers,” said Mayor de Blasio.

“Gunshot detection technology like ShotSpotter will add yet another tool to the NYPD’s technological crimefighting capabilities. It will enable us to respond to shooting incidents in a more timely manner, and provide us with the ability to help victims, solve crimes and apprehend dangerous suspects more quickly. The NYPD thanks the various civic and community partners that helped make this project finally happen in New York City,” said Commissioner Bratton.

State Senator Marty Golden, a former New York City Police Officer, stated, "With the increase in shootings throughout our City, I commend Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bratton for instituting an advanced program that will assist us in quickly apprehending the perpetrators involved. The strides we have made in reducing crime must continue, and cognizant of this spike in shootings, the City is taking the right steps so to insure New York City remains the safest large city in America."

Since April 2014, the NYPD has been working with the company ShotSpotter to bring the technological capabilities required for a gunshot alert and analysis system to New York City. Similar systems are already in use in Washington, DC, Newark, NJ, East Orange, NJ, Plainfield, NJ, Atlantic City, NJ, Camden, NJ, and Nassau County, NY.

The ShotSpotter system triangulates the location of a gunshot to within 25 meters of where the shot was fired. The system then forwards a notification to an incident review center where a trained operator reviews the audio file to determine if the sound was that of a gunshot or some other similar-sounding audio incident (e.g. fireworks, engine backfiring, etc.). Once the incident is determined to be a gunshot, an alert is sent to the NYPD via the Domain Awareness System (DAS). This alert includes relevant information such as number of shots fired, location of the gunshot (including map access), if the shooter was moving at the time of the incident (such as in a vehicle), and the direction of the shooter’s movement. Upon receipt of such an alert, the NYPD can dispatch units to the location of the shooting.

This technology will allow the NYPD to dispatch officers to the exact location of a shooting, rather than a general area, which has potential to save valuable time and resources and increase the likelihood that the shooter will be identified and caught, victims will receive aid, and evidence and witnesses will be available. ShotSpotter has the potential to allow police officers to effectively and efficiently respond to gunshot incidents that may otherwise go unreported to the police.

Based on the results of the pilot program, NYPD anticipates incorporating the ShotSpotter alerts in the DAS mobile application, allowing officers to receive alerts directly on their smartphone or tablet devices. The ShotSpotter system gives the NYPD the ability to use technology in an intelligent and strategic way by giving police officers immediate access to the most accurate information available.