Toledo police’s new gunshot-detecting audio program, called “ShotSpotter,” has been up and running in Toledo for a week, and so far, seems to be working as officials anticipated.
“I know we’ve responded to incidents that we otherwise wouldn’t have if we didn’t have ShotSpotter,” said Lt. Kevan Toney, Toledo police spokesman.
ShotSpotter is a program designed to detect the sound of gunfire and alert law enforcement to a specific site where shots were fired — so officers need not wait for a 911 call that doesn't always happen. The system's sensors distinguish gunshots from other noises, such as fireworks.
Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz announced last year the city's plan to use nearly half a million dollars in federal grant money to purchase the program, with the U.S. Department of Justice awarding a $492,000 grant to Toledo in September, 2018.
Officials believe that the program will help make communities safer by allowing police to respond faster to shootings and start collecting evidence right away. It also could save lives by allowing potential shooting victims to receive medical treatment faster.
Not every gunshot that occurs in Toledo is reported to the police, and Lieutenant Toney said he hopes the program gives the community more confidence in law enforcement.
“If you hear gunshots in your neighborhood and never see the police, you could lose confidence in your police department,” Lieutenant Toney said.
In the week since ShotSpotter has gone live, Toledo police Chief George Kral said officers have responded to 14 shootings alerted to them by the program. Of those 11 — or roughly 78 percent — were never reported to police through a 911 call, meaning that without ShotSpotter, police would have only been aware of three shootings in that area.
In one incident, crews responded to a shooting alert in the 600 block of Stratford Place, and officers took one person into custody who they believe discharged the firearm, Chief Kral said.
“The point I’m trying to make is this technology works,” he said.
If it continues working, Chief Kral said his goal is to expand the program to other parts of the city.
The program works by using acoustic sensors that kick on when they detect any loud noise similar to a gunshot. The program’s internal software determines whether the sound is possible gunfire, Lieutenant Toney said. If the computer determines that it is possible gunfire, a recording of that sound is sent to ShotSpotter’s call center, where an audio expert reviews the recording. At that point it is either sent to local police as an alert of gunfire or, if the sound is dismissed as not gunfire, it is purged from the system.
All of this, said Sgt. Jim Haney, happens within 60 seconds or no more than 90 seconds.
Along with alerting police, the audio sensors also pinpoint the location of where the gun was fired to within a roughly 25-foot radius.
The week before the system went live, officers tested the sensors by filling the back of a truck with sand and firing real gunshots into the sand within the neighborhoods that ShotSpotter covers, Lieutenant Toney said. Actual gunfire had to be used because the sensors are sensitive and can differentiate between blanks and gunshots.
And, with the Fourth of July around the corner, Lieutenant Toney said it should differentiate between gunshots and fireworks. And if someone within the range of ShotSpotter decides to shoot celebratory gunfire during the holiday, police will be able to pinpoint the shooter’s exact location.
So, if the system discourages gunfire on July 4, that would be another benefit to the community, Lieutenant Toney said.
Sergeant Haney, with TPD’s Gun Crime and Intelligence Task Force, traveled to Milwaukee to study how that city’s police department uses ShotSpotter. Toledo is the fourth city in Ohio and the 91st in the country to implement the program. According to statistics from the company, up to 80 percent of all gunfire is never reported to the police.
Whether that will turn out to be true in Toledo remains to be seen, Sergeant Haney said.
“We don’t know what it’s going to be like in our city,” he said. “Not yet.”
Representatives from the company came to Toledo to set up the audio sensors in areas that Toledo police determined would be most effective based on historic shooting data: a 4-square-mile area in North Toledo. Police would not give more specific details about where the parameters are for security reasons.
All of the ShotSpotter equipment is leased to the department, Lieutenant Toney said. The city pays an annual fee to use the program and, if a sensor or part of the software malfunctions, the company can quickly fix or replace it at no extra cost.
Lieutenant Toney stressed that ShotSpotter will not replace 911 calls. Police still need the public’s help in preventing and solving criminal activity. ShotSpotter can’t tell officers what a suspect was wearing, or in which direction they fled, he said.
“That type of stuff is key,” Lieutenant Toney said. “[ShotSpotter] just helps us respond.”
First Published July 2, 2019, 2:30 p.m.
