ShotSpotter, a leader in precision policing solutions, and the 2020 Gold ‘ASTORS’ Award Winner for Best Gunshot Detection Solution, has reported a dramatic rise of 48 percent in gunshot incidents during 2020 compared with 2019, according to the company’s data that tracks gunfire in more than 100 U.S. cities that use its technology.
The increase comes during a year that included a global pandemic, calls for social justice and heightened political divisions.
ShotSpotter gunfire statistics for 2020 showed a spike in gunshot incidents as compared to the prior year in the weeks following George Floyd’s death (May 25).
That trend continued during the next four weeks of nationwide protests and, while dropping the last week of June, gunfire levels remained at a significantly higher rate throughout the remainder of the year as compared to the prior year.
The 2020 ShotSpotter National Gunfire Trends report showing gunfire incidents per square mile per week, 2020 vs. 2019, is as follows:
When broken down by region, the data reveals a 58 percent increase in gunfire in the Midwest – the region with the highest increase.
In other regions, the South had the smallest increase in gunshot events with a 19 percent increase year over year, while the Northeast and West experienced similar surges of 40 percent and 42 percent respectively as compared to the prior year.
In line with the ShotSpotter data of increased 2020 gunfire rates, independent research group Gun Violence Archive reported a record number of homicides by gun violence this year with more than 19,000 U.S. deaths.
New Year’s Eve, typically an active night due to celebratory gunfire, saw an upswing this year with the ShotSpotter Incident Review Center (IRC) logging an unprecedented 12,266 gunshot alerts in just 24 hours.
In comparison, over the past three years the New Year’s Eve numbers averaged 6,803 ShotSpotter alerts in the same timeframe – with the 2021 rate nearly double the three-year average of 6,803 gunshots; up 36 percent from 2020 when the rate was 9,034.
“The startling increase in gunshots and gun violence deaths in 2020 is hopefully an extreme outlier,” explains Lynda R. Williams, President of NOBLE (National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives).
“We do know that last year was unprecedented due to a global pandemic, social justice protests, a divisive national election, and an increase in gun sales.”
“It is our belief that law enforcement agencies and communities can work hand in hand for public health and safety in the new year.”
“Unfortunately turning the page to 2021 will not magically reduce violent crime, but our hope is that the insight that our unique data provides will motivate policy makers and appropriators to invest more resources and tools to help agencies drive violent crime levels down,” added Ralph A. Clark, President and CEO of ShotSpotter.
“We look forward to partnering with agencies in this new year to enable them to be more data driven, proactive and efficient in adopting proven precision policing strategies going forward.”
In addition to Best Gunshot Detection System, ShotSpotter was also recognized for ShotSpotter® Connect™, an AI-driven software that helps law enforcement deter crime by pro-actively directing patrol resources to specific locations that have the highest likelihood of crime that day.
ShotSpotter Takes Two in the 2020 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program
American Security Today’s ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards program is in its Fifth Year and continues to recognize the Outstanding Innovations of top firms and agencies in the Homeland Security and Public Safety fields.
2020 has been a very challenging year for everyone due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the much heralded AST ‘ASTORS’ Awards Winners Presentations and exclusive Luncheon at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC has been canceled and rescheduled for 2021 due to the virus.
However, the 2020 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program was again a huge success and many new categories were added including a section for COVID-19 Detection and Innovation.
ShotSpotter (First of Two)
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ShotSpotter® Connect™ is AI-driven software that helps law enforcement deter crime by pro-actively directing patrol resources to specific locations that have the highest likelihood of crime that day.
Research shows that high visibility patrols are an effective deterrent to crime. Agencies receive precise locations to patrol based on AI that is superior to traditional hot spot analysis.
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Connect develops risk assessments for future crimes by collecting and analyzing three sources of data: historical crime data from a police jurisdiction; public data such as weather, transportation points, locations of parks, schools, and liquor establishments; and exclusive ShotSpotter gunfire data.
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Machine learning determines the areas of highest risk and the forecasts are turned into data-driven patrol plans by shift and beat every day, and disseminated electronically to officers in the field, and carefully meters out recommended time spent on a directed patrol, suggests tactics by crime type, and automatically randomizes patrol locations to minimize the possibility of over or under policing any area.
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ShotSpotter Connect has been proven to reduce crime by 33%, measured over a period of 90 days in one part of a district where patrol officers use the software and compared to crime levels where officers in a neighboring part of the district do not use the software.
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ShotSpotter Connect gives command staff unprecedented insight into where their patrol cars have been, the tactics officers are using, and the results they are getting which enables them to better understand which tactics have the highest impact on crime.
A robust suite of reports provide command staff with insights into where officers were and what they were doing that help optimize patrol strategies and ensure officer accountability.
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In these times of reduced police forces due to the pandemic, ShotSpotter Connect helps agencies use their existing resources most efficiently, so police patrols can be at the right place at the right time to deter crime before it happens and keep our communities safer.
ShotSpotter (Second of Two)
Best Gunshot Detection Solution
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Many cities across the country face a gun violence problem and 80% of gunshot incidents are never reported to 911.
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ShotSpotter’s technology detects, locates and alerts law enforcement agencies to gunfire incidents in real-time.
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It is used by more than 100 cities across the U.S., including nearly half of which are top 50 metro areas including Cincinnati, New York City, Miami, Denver and Oakland.
(See a brief overview of ShotSpotter Flex – Gunshot Detection for Cities. Courtesy of ShotSpotter and YouTube.)
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In 2019, ShotSpotter detected over 140,000 gunshot incidents across the US with a 97% accuracy rate.
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ShotSpotter’s real-time alerts notify police precisely when and where gunshot incidents occur, within 60 seconds, with critical data such as number of rounds fired, number of shooters, and type of weapons used.
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This results in a faster, more accurate response to the scene to better recover evidence, interview witnesses, and attend to gunshot victims—improving overall police effectiveness.
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By working with ShotSpotter, law enforcement agencies can better connect with their communities and bolster their mission to protect and serve.
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ShotSpotter was also recognized in the 2019 and 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Programs.
ShotSpotter precision policing solutions that enable law enforcement officials to more effectively respond to, investigate and deter crime.
The company’s products are trusted by more than 100 U.S. cities to help make their communities safer.
To Learn More, please visit ShotSpotter.com.
The 2020 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program is sponsored by ATI Systems, Attivo Networks, Automatic Systems, Desktop Alert, X.Labs and Reed Expositions, every one a returning Sponsor from 2019.
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The traditional security marketplace has long been covered by a host of publications putting forward the old school basics to what is Today – a fast changing security landscape.
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NYC Shootings and Homicides Soared in 2020, Crime Data Shows
