COLUMBUS – Coming off a year in which the city saw a record number of homicides, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther’s administration is kicking off a pilot program, installing ShotSpotter gunfire detection systems in three neighborhoods.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
In an update on anti-crime efforts, Ginther announced on Monday that the city plans to roll out a yearlong pilot program with California-based ShotSpotter, which will install sensors covering three-square-mile areas in the Hilltop, Linden and the South Side.
The sensors are capable of detecting gunfire, help responding officers determine where the shots originated, how many were fired and from what kind of weapon, according to Ginther’s office and information on the company’s website.
“More than half of all homicides are committed with firearms and hundreds more people are injured through gun violence,” Ginther said.
Ginther says cities which have adopted ShotSpotter systems as part of their crime-fighting efforts, such as Cincinnati, Youngstown, Pittsburgh and Chicago, have reported up to 80 percent reductions in gunfire and as much as 40 percent declines in related violent crime.
The system is intended to help police respond more quickly to incidents of gunfire, get medical aid to victims and assist in the investigation and collection of evidence in the case.
The sensors detect gunfire and sends the data to a computer center, which relays information to 911 operators, helping officers determine where the shots originated and speed response, Ginther said.
The sensors can differentiate between gunfire, fully automatic gunfire and other loud noises, record the number of rounds fired and the sequence of locations in which events occurred in the case of an active shooter situation.