Study Reveals Gun Crime Intelligence, First Responder Safety & Community Engagement Among Key Benefits of ShotSpotter Gunshot Location Solution

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Independent Analyst Study Endorsed by National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives Finds the Gunshot Location System an Effective Tool to Combat Gun Violence & Crime

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ShotSpotter, Inc., the market leader and innovator in gunshot detection and location technology and acoustic surveillance, today announced the findings of the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System Efficacy Study, a first-ever analyst report on the capability and effectiveness of the gunshot location system as a critical technology for public safety, police and law enforcement.

Endorsed by the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) and conducted by CSG Analysis (CSGA), an independent commercial research firm, the study’s independent findings revealed that the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System (GLS) improves law enforcement productivity, response time, and effectiveness by providing more information and intelligence including:

  • Accurately facilitating a faster response to gunfire
  • Providing previously unavailable gunfire data that optimizes the ways in which detectives and investigators approach homicide and gunfire investigations
  • Increasing officer safety when responding to gunshot calls
  • Increasing positive community engagement and confidence with law enforcement and police
  • Equipping law enforcement agencies with better crime data

“The efficacy study reveals that the technology’s benefits are broad, as the solution delivers value beyond fast and tactical responses by law enforcement to gunfire,” said Nick Selby, Principal of CSGA. “The various agencies which have deployed the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System have seen improvements in community policing and increased community responsiveness to gunfire. This speaks positively to the technology and its value in not only helping law enforcement tactically and strategically, but in earning the trust of the communities they serve.”

CSGA researchers conducted in-depth interviews with five respondent groups—command staff, crime analysts, detectives, patrol officers and dispatchers—from ShotSpotter customer agencies throughout the U.S. Agencies were selected based on specific characteristics including, the length of their ShotSpotter deployment and having had a substantial criminal gunfire problem prior to system installation. The Nassau County, N.Y. Police Department was one of the agencies that participated in the study.

“We have been able to make a tremendous impact in reducing crime by integrating the intelligence provided by our ShotSpotter GLS with our other technologies and business process. This has enabled us to see an end-to-end value in the system – from incident response and investigation to prosecution and crime analysis,” said William Flanagan, Deputy Commissioner of the Nassau County Police Department. “Knowing immediately when and where a gun is fired within the coverage area not only helps our officers respond faster and gives them a specific area to search for potential evidence and question witnesses, it has helped us strategically, giving us quality data for crime analysis and crucial deployment of department resources.”

The study’s full results were recently announced by CSGA and NOBLE at the 35th Annual NOBLE Conference and Exhibition in Lexington, K.Y.

“As evident in this report, law enforcement agencies have found the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System to be an effective tool for combating gun violence and its negative impact on the community,” said NOBLE Executive Director Jessie Lee. “NOBLE’s hope is that this research and its findings will help educate and inspire new ideas and ways of successfully using the data provided by the system to build on intelligent policing and law enforcement programs and practices worldwide.”

The full report, including interview transcripts, surveys, and raw data are available for download and peer review at www.shotspotter.com/resources/efficacystudy.com.

“The findings presented in this comprehensive study are a critical resource in helping public safety agencies better understand the ShotSpotter solution and its effectiveness in helping reduce gun crime and violence,” said Ralph A. Clark, President and CEO of ShotSpotter, Inc. “We’ve learned a great deal from our customers and are eager to share how they have been able to use the system effectively and efficiently to combat gun crime and violence within their respective communities.”

ShotSpotter delivers real-time and immediate gunshot location data, enabling accurate decisions for emergency response, helping improve situational intelligence and elevating first responder safety. The ShotSpotter gunfire alert data also helps improve incident response and management and provides important forensic evidence for investigations, prosecutions and crime analysis.

About NOBLE

The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) serves as the conscience of law enforcement and is committed to justice by action, equity in matters related to law enforcement, its mission to ensure equity in the administration of justice, and its unyielding commitment to work towards the elimination of racism and bias of any type within the law enforcement field. This includes a commitment to equal treatment in the administration of justice and within the law enforcement field for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression. The goal of NOBLE is to be recognized as a highly competent, public service organization that is at the forefront of providing solutions to law enforcement issues and concerns, as well as to the ever-changing needs of our communities. NOBLE was founded in 1976 and represents more than 3,500 top federal, state, county and municipal law enforcement officials from departments and agencies that include the U.S. Marshals, GSA, Immigration, Secret Service, FBI, DEA, ATF, NRC, TSA, NRC, U.S. Postal Service, Homeland Security, transit authorities, university security, and police and sheriff’s departments. For more information, visit www.noblenational.org.

About CSG Analysis

As a police officer-owned and operated company providing research and analysis on law enforcement technology and intelligence capabilities and methods, CSG Analysis (CSGA) is uniquely qualified to conduct this research. Since 2009, its principals have provided consulting services to law enforcement agencies and officers on local, county and federal levels. Principals are currently sworn police officers and investigators (full-time and part-time), who are trained in homicide and gunshot investigations and criminal and internal affairs investigations. Prior to founding CSGA, its principals have produced more than 500 industry analysis and user deployment reports for a range of customers in the private sector (F100 firms, large investment banks, and very large online and brick-and-mortar retailers). Prior to and since the founding of CSGA, its principals have advised government organizations including US federal agencies and intelligence organizations, security research organizations and the European Union. CSG Analysis also provides consulting to large private enterprises on threat intelligence and analysis, and network security, and to vendors of products serving these public and private markets. CSG Analysis is behind the successful law enforcement intelligence and technology website, Police-Led Intelligence (http://policeledintelligence.com/).

About ShotSpotter

ShotSpotter, Inc. is the leading developer of wide-area acoustic surveillance systems for gunfire and explosive events. Its technology solutions are focused on improving public and community safety by locating gunshots and other explosive events, and ultimately, helping reduce and prevent violent gun crime and improving intelligence-led policing and community policing initiatives. The ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System® (GLS) is the pioneer in the use of wide-area acoustic surveillance coupled with audio analytics for public safety, homeland security, and military applications. For over a decade, public safety agencies and governments have relied on ShotSpotter solutions to provide them with real-time and precise event detection and actionable intelligence to aid their proactive anti-crime strategies and operations. ShotSpotter solutions protect many cities and communities worldwide, enabling police and law enforcement to respond more quickly, safely, precisely and consistently to gunfire.

ShotSpotter possesses a multitude of patents that are the result of nearly two decades of innovation in the area of acoustic gunshot location technology. Its solutions are protected by many existing patents and pending patents. Information about ShotSpotter can be found at www.shotspotter.com. For ongoing news, please visit http://www.shotspotter.com/news/index.html.

ShotSpotter, Inc.
Lydia Barrett, 650-833-9534 (Cell)
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
lbarrett@shotspotter.com
Erin M. Lopez, 650-960-9207 (Office)
Marketing Manager, Corporate Communications
elopez@shotspotter.com

Source: ShotSpotter, Inc.

Released August 2, 2011