KCPD’s ShotSpotter system goes live this weekend
The KCPD announced Wednesday that the its new ShotSpotter Flex gunfire recognition system will go live this weekend or by Monday at the latest. The system built by SST Systems features noise collectors that triangulate the location of fired shots and will cover 3.55 square miles of the city.
The ShotSpotter hardware captures loud audio that could be gunfire, then sends the sound to an SST analyst in Newark, California who determines if it was shots or another noise. If it’s determined to be gunfire, the SST employee contacts Kansas City Police dispatch and gives them the location — including latitude and longitude and street addresses — and the number of the shots fired. The dispatcher then sends officers nearby to the scene. According to a police press release, the officers will respond to a ShotSpotter alert as if it was a shots fired 911 call. SST says the whole process takes 45-60 seconds.
Police aren’t disclosing the locations of the hardware. But they say the area will include the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority’s Troost MAX line and some of the Green Impact Zone. Earlier this year, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver announced he had found federal transportation money for the project. The KCATA is the agency leading the project. A total budget of $720,000 will fund the system and maintenance for five years.
