Council planning to expand gunshot detection system

A gunshot-detection system hailed by Pittsburgh police officials is poised to cover nearly a third of the city this year.

City council Wednesday endorsed an expansion of the ShotSpotter system to reach all six police zones, starting on the North Side. Members will take a final vote Tuesday on a $3.38 million, three-year agreement with ShotSpotter Inc., including system maintenance.

Mayor Bill Peduto is expected to sign the measure, advanced by the public safety director, Wendell Hissrich.

“Crime is clustered, and so we can target this technology to where those clusters are,” Councilwoman Deborah Gross said.

ShotSpotter uses microphones to monitor constantly for gunfire, relaying alerts to dispatchers even when no one calls 911. Pittsburgh began a pilot with the technology in January 2015 in Zone 5, where ShotSpotter tracks an area of 3 square miles between East Hills and Garfield.

During that time, nearly 6,000 ShotSpotter “indications” have pointed to more than 2,200 gunfire incidents, according to the Department of Public Safety. Police have made 48 arrests amid responses to ShotSpotter calls, and responders have located 83 shooting victims, Mr. Hissrich said.

“Overall, we found we are able to get to victims and to crime scenes quicker,” Zone 5 police Cmdr. Jason Lando said.

He called the technology invaluable in rendering aid, locating crime scenes, recovering evidence and assisting prosecutions. Police found they had been missing some East End gunfire because residents are accustomed to the noise and don’t always call 911 when they hear it, Cmdr. Lando said.

ShotSpotter “has actually saved lives,” Councilwoman Darlene Harris said. Cmdr. Lando noted four examples — not an all-encompassing list, he said — when ShotSpotter helped officers respond quickly and efficiently to gunfire.

Under the planned expansion, ShotSpotter coverage would include about 18 square miles citywide, targeting areas that together accounted for about 80.5 percent of Pittsburgh’s gunfire calls and 87.5 percent of gunrelated homicides from January 2015 through Dec. 15, 2017, Mr. Hissrich has said. Pittsburgh spans about 58 square miles overall.

If approved by council, a gradual rollout should be complete by year’s end, said Daniel Shak, a city technology manager. The installation process in each police zone should take about 45 days, he said.

Work would begin in Zone 1, which spans the North Side. About 4.5 square miles there would be covered.

Up next would be 3.1 square miles in Zone 3, which includes the South Side and parts of the South Hills, followed by 3 square miles in Zones 2 and 4, which include Downtown, the Hill District and much of the East End; 1.5 additional square miles in Zone 5; 2.5 square miles in Zone 6, which includes the West End, Sheraden and part of South Pittsburgh; and 0.4 square miles in another part of Zone 4.

“It’s unfortunate we need it,” council President Bruce Kraus said of the technology. “But it’s the world we live in today. I would much rather us be pre-emptive and proactive than reactive.”

Public safety officials plan to pair the expansion with more city-owned surveillance cameras. Mr. Hissrich said additional cameras would be rolled out in tandem with the ShotSpotter audio devices. They would be linked so that cameras can turn automatically toward gunfire detected by ShotSpotter, he said.

The city plans to add 225 cameras to its network, doubling the number in operation now, Mr. Hissrich said.

Still, he said, people should always dial 911 when they hear gunfire. He said the city hopes the additional equipment will help deter and reduce crime over the long term.

“This is another tool in the toolbox,” Mr. Hissrich said.