ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department plans to expand its ShotSpotter technology later this year.
The department said they will use money from The Smart Policing Initiative Grant and Technology grant to expand ShotSpotter in the summer/early fall in the Dutchtown and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods. According to the police department, the area has seen thousands of shots fired calls in recent years.
Police said ShotSpotter technology allows officers to respond quicker and more accurately to gunfire since there is a lack of citizen reports. An increased response time also allows for ballistic evidence to be collected to track gun crimes within the City. ShotSpotter uses sensors to detect gunshots and triangulate within 82 feet of where the shots were fired.
According to the police department’s surveillance technology report, between 2018 and March 2021, there were 21,700 ShotSpotter incidents in St. Louis, of which about 86% did not have a matching call from community members.
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