EPA PD Utilizes High Tech Gun Detection System

Those in East Palo Alto who want to open the new year with a bang, may also be hearing the clang of jail cell bars slamming behind them.

East Palo Alto police are beefing up personnel and relying on a high tech noise detection system in order to catch and punish anyone who fires a gun to celebrate this New Year's Eve.

Over the course of past years, it has become popular for rowdy party goers to to ring in the new year. But due to the dangers involved, East Palo Alto police are focusing on bringing that fashion of celebration to an end.

This year, police dispatchers will depend on the ShotSpotter program to pinpoint where a gun is fired, and then send officers to that location to apprehend the shooter, said detective and sergeant Jeff Liu.

ShotSpotter employs 35 automatic noise sensors spread across East Palo Alto that are able to detect the sound of gun shots, then relay that information to a computer that is able to identify the location of the sound.

The ShotSpotter computer program shows a satellite image of the city, and instantly places a red dot on the map with the exact address of where the gun fire is detected. Dispatchers are also able to listen to an audio recording of the sound that the sensors detected, in order to filter out false alarms.

In the case of a shot being detected and confirmed, officers are dispatched to the location to arrest the shooter.

And though the program is being used on New Year's Eve to deter people from shooting miscellaneously into the air, Liu said each shot spotted is addressed by officers as a worst case scenario.

"Each time a gun discharges, we treat it as one of the most dangerous situations in the world," said Liu.

Liu said three times the normal amount of police officers will be on patrol for New Year's Eve, and each will be positioned strategically across the city in order to allow a quicker response time.

The ShotSpotter program can also be manipulated to show the location of all the gun shots in East Palo Alto over the course of the past year, in order to help identify the areas that commonly feature the most gun shots.

Ralph Clark, president and chief executive officer of ShotSpotter, said that he believes every square inch of the 2.5 mile area that comprises East Palo Alto is covered by gun shot sensors.

Clark's company, based in Mountain View, made its debut in East Palo Alto in 2009 and is also being utilized in cities all across the nation and globe. Clark said that the program is frequently used only in high-risk neighborhoods and areas of a city. But that it works well in locations such as East Palo Alto, because of the small size of the city.

Beyond East Palo Alto, ShotSpotter is used by nearby police departments in Oakland and Redwood City, as well as in larger cities such as Washington DC. Clark said that the system is also used in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

But Liu said police will not rely solely on the gun shot detection system to locate those who choose to shoot their guns this New Year's Eve. He still encouraged residents who witness such activity to call police, or if possible, intervene beforehand.

"This is a community problem, not just a police department problem," he said.

Liu said that anyone caught haphazardly firing a gun will be arrested for negligent discharge of a firearm, which can carry a sentence of up to three years in jail.

"We will tell the District Attorney to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law," he said.