ShotSpotter products use patented technology to detect weapons-fire events over large, complex environments. The system uses wireless and/or wired sensors to identify, locate and give a visual image of the location of a gunshot event within seconds. With the release of version 5.0, ShotSpotter has further enhanced the system's capabilities based largely on customer feedback, focusing on improving the ease with which the system can be deployed and improving the ability of public safety agencies to respond even more rapidly to gunshot incidents.
One of the key components of the system is the Public Safety Console, or PSC, which is now available in a mobile version, the PSC-Mobile. This tool enhances situational awareness and streamlines gunshot information-sharing among patrol officers and central stations. Like the PSC used in dispatch centers, PSC-Mobile provides real-time updates on gunshot events, including the renowned "dot on the map," incident details, and visual and audio alerts. It is optimized to provide critical information to officers in the field without distracting them from the situation at hand.
"We are pleased with the PSC-Mobile, an idea originally brought to ShotSpotter by the Oakland Police Department," said Lt. Darren Allison, commander, special operations for the Oakland Police Department. "We now have PSC-Mobile installed on laptops in police vehicles, and it has already shown its ability to let officers respond more quickly and accurately to gunshots. This helps utilize our resources more efficiently than we already are with the ShotSpotter system. This is the name of the game when it comes to gunshot incidents."
Sensors are at the heart of the ShotSpotter system. Release 5.0 adds mobile sensors that make the Rapid Deployment System (RDS) possible to the existing options of fixed wireless and wired sensors. These "individual-wearable" sensors are lightweight yet highly sophisticated, enabling forces on the move to detect and locate gunshot events. Blueforce tracking is a standard feature providing for exact location of each sensor and its relationship to the gunshot event. All ShotSpotter sensors, including these individual-worn sensors, interoperate and provide a redundant, layered sensor network.
Two new capabilities dramatically increase the flexibility and cost-effectiveness with which this world-class system can be deployed. First, the new Hybrid System that debuts with Release 5.0 incorporates mobile sensors with the fixed telephony and fixed wireless networks. The system is quick to deploy and highly customizable to each individual situation. With the Hybrid System, existing ShotSpotter customers can easily add wireless and mobile sensors and the PSC-Mobile to their existing infrastructure; new customers can custom-build the infrastructure they need with ultimate flexibility.
In addition, the introduction of support for Ethernet-enabled sensors further extends the flexibility and cost benefits of the system. ShotSpotter fixed wireless sensors, rather than relying on proprietary wireless systems, can now be deployed with virtually any radio, router, public WiFi network, broadband network, etc. In addition to saving money by utilizing existing infrastructure, this ability also provides unprecedented flexibility for deploying and extending ShotSpotter installations. Ethernet-enabled sensors support industry standard Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) for single-cable installations.
"We have reached a major milestone with GLS 5.0: This is our first release whose feature set was 100% driven by customer feedback, and it is also the first fully qualified, harmonized wireless, wired and mobile system to incorporate these unprecedented capabilities," commented James G. Beldock, President and CEO of ShotSpotter. "Our large and active customer base has been instrumental in helping us design, test and deliver this groundbreaking release."
ShotSpotter has been delivering patented, state-of-the-art gunshot location and detection systems for more than ten years, and counts more than a dozen operational systems in place today. Agencies using the ShotSpotter GLS have reported that gunfire-related arrests increase by 50%, violent crime rates drop by at least 30%, and gunfire rates have dropped dramatically, by as much as 60-80% depending on the location of the system.
In addition to providing real-time notification of gunshot events, complete with an audio file of the event, ShotSpotter captures information that can be used for later detailed forensic and intelligence analysis of events. Such information can include weapon type and direction of fire analysis, and even information on drive-by shooters on the move. In addition, ShotSpotter GLS interoperates with camera and surveillance systems, crime analysis tools and other dispatching technologies.
