The Associated Press
GARY, Ind. (AP) - City officials have received a $700,000 federal grant to install a system of utility pole-mounted sensors that can pinpoint the source of gunfire.
Using the technology, police will know in seconds if a loud pop outside a home is gunfire, a car engine or fireworks.
The ShotSpotter Inc. system will transmit information through telephone lines to the police communications center, where a radio dispatcher can then pinpoint the gunshot’s location to within about 20 feet.
Earlier this month, a city board approved buying two sensor systems from the Mountain View, Calif.-based company using the Department of Justice grant.
The receivers should be installed by late this year, Deputy Police Chief Jeff Kumorek told the Post-Tribune of Merrillville for a story published Monday.
One system, which includes eight sensors mounted on telephone poles in a two-square-mile area, was planned near the Indiana University Northwest campus, he said.
The location for a second system has not been decided, but ShotSpotter CEO James Beldock said the equipment can, if needed, be moved to different neighborhoods.
Kumorek and Randy Jacobs, special assistant to IU-Northwest’s chancellor, visited North Charleston, S.C., to see how their ShotSpotter system works.
“They showed us that their officers get to the source so quickly, they can arrest the shooter at least 30 percent of the time,” Jacobs said.
If police cannot find the shooter, they distribute to the neighborhood preprinted notices urging people to call authorities with information about illegal gunfire.
Another note goes to the house where the shots originated.