COUNTY GOES HIGH TECH TO COMBAT GUN VIOLENCE

Gunshot detection system will be implemented in Yonkers, Mount Vernon

 Westchester County is joining Yonkers and Mount Vernon in a high-tech collaboration to curb gun violence by bringing state-of-the art gunshot detection technology to the two cities.

County Executive Andy Spano said the county plans to purchase and install a sophisticated network of sensors that will detect gunfire and pinpoint its precise location for police. The sensors inform police within seconds after gunshots sound, enabling officers to respond to the scene immediately, even before they receive a 911 call.

Spano was joined today at a news conference by Mount Vernon Mayor Clinton Young, Yonkers Mayor Philip Amicone, County board chair Bill Ryan, and county legislators from the two cities: Jose Alvarado, Ken Jenkins, Gordon Burrows, Bernice Spreckman and Lyndon Williams.
“Protecting the public is the foremost responsibility that we have,”Spano said. “We believe that this technology will help to keep our communities safer, deter gun-related violence and help police to identify and arrest those involved. This is one of the many ways the county helps communities in Westchester.”

With the support of the Westchester Board of Legislators, the county will spend $3 million in capital funds to install this proven crime detection and prevention technology in the two cities, which have seen an increase in gun-related crime. The county will seek bids from manufacturers of acoustic gunshot detection systems, which can also be linked to video cameras. Once installed, Yonkers and Mount Vernon will assume the costs of maintaining and repairing the systems.

Mount Vernon Mayor Clinton Young said, “On behalf of Mount Vernon, I sincerely thank County Executive Spano for recognizing the tremendous need for this technology in our city. This system will allow our police department to zero in on gunfire almost immediately, as well as lessen the threat to others in the neighborhood. The criminals should be on notice that we are using every resource possible to lock them up and remove illegal guns from our streets. This will go a long way in reducing crime and promoting safer communities in the City of Mount Vernon.”

Yonkers Mayor Philip Amicone said, “Gunshot detection will be another important tool in law enforcement’s arsenal that will enable police to respond quickly and accurately.  I want to thank the county executive and the county police for taking the lead on this initiative.”

Gunshot detection technology, which is in use in a variety of communities around the country, has been credited with helping police to:

• Apprehend shooters before they can flee;
• Locate witnesses who were present when a crime was committed;
• Allocate resources more effectively in response to data about where gunfire is occurring, and
• Find gunshot victims quickly and get them medical attention, including in cases where no one called 911.

County Legislator Kenneth Jenkins of Yonkers said, “This investment by the county will allow the target communities to save tax dollars by allowing the police to efficiently deploy officers and quickly respond to gun violence. It is another example of the partnership between the county and the municipalities.”

County Legislator Lyndon Williams of Mount Vernon said, " Mount Vernon residents will be encouraged to know that we are doing our best to get dangerous guns off our streets and make our community safer. This technology will go a long way in providing safety and reducing crime. It has made a significant impact in reducing crime in other cities and I have no doubt that it will work in our city."

Gunshot detection systems use acoustic sensing technology to identify and report gunshots to the police within seconds. The sensors, which can differentiate gunfire from other loud sounds such as fireworks or car backfires, use wireless transmitters to send the information to a police dispatch center.

The sensors also trigger another program that calculates the direction that the sound came from –a process known as triangulation. This is done by comparing the slightly different times at which the sound hits different sensors in the area. Triangulation permits the detection system to pinpoint a very precise location –usually within 25 feet –of where a gunshot was fired. The location is transmitted to a police computer that displays a map and the closest address to the gunfire.

Video cameras linked to each sensor also turn automatically toward the location of the gunfire to potentially capture images of what is occurring. In addition, the sensors can tell police how many shots were fired, how many shooters were involved and whether the shooters were stationary or moving (such as in a drive-by shooting).

The decision to obtain a gunshot detection system came in consultation with officials in both cities.

In the City of Yonkers, the number of shooting incidents increased by 70 percent from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30 of 2008 compared to the same period a year earlier, and the number of shooting victims increased by 88 percent.

Amicone said that the detection system would build upon what Yonkers is already doing to reduce crime. “Violent crime rates in Yonkers have continued to drop, not only because of the quality community police work being done by our officers, but also because we’ve made a commitment to outfit them with the equipment and technology they need to do the job,”he said..

In the City of Mount Vernon, the number of shooting incidents increased by 59 percent from 2007 to 2008 and the number of shooting victims increased by 67 percent from 2007 to 2008.

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