NYPD Roles Out Shot Spotter Pilot Program In Areas Of Bronx, Brooklyn

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new high-tech pilot program that will help the NYPD determine where shots are fired, even if no one calls 911.

The technology is called Shot Spotter and it works like a GPS triangulation system, using antennas and coordinates to identify the location and direction the gunfire comes from, 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reported.

NYPD spokesman Steve Davis said the information is relayed to the real time crime center in police headquarters, which will then be able to disseminate the location to police officers in the field.

Davis said the Shot Spotter is designed to address shootings and resulting fatalities, both of which are on the rise this year compared to last year. The technology will also help get police to the scene of shootings faster than ever before.

The pilot program was set up in 7 Bronx precincts and 10 Brooklyn precincts that have seen an uptick in gun violence.

As 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reported, the NYPD actually expects the number of shootings in the city to go up.

Based on statistics in other cities where it's already in use, 75 percent of shootings that occur are not reported to 911.

Jesse Tisch, the NYPD's deputy commissioner of information and technology, said within an hour of being activated in the Bronx on Monday, shots were recorded.

"That shooting occurred at 1:12 hours at 228 West Tremont Ave. The shot count there was three. There were no 911 calls associated with it," Tisch said.

The Shot Spotter system will be activated in Brooklyn next week.

In:
• New York City Police Department