Tacoma Police host ShotSpotter technology community meeting

Tacoma Police say "ShotSpotter" will allow law enforcement to identify gunfire incidents through real-time alerts, and help with the city’s Crime Reduction Plan

TACOMA, Wash. - The Tacoma Police Department (TPD) hosted it’s first of two community meetings Wednesday to talk about a controversial technology the department plans to deploy this coming fall.

It's called "ShotSpotter," SoundThinking’s acoustic gunshot detection technology. According to TPD it will allow law enforcement to identify gunfire incidents through real-time alerts that pinpoint the precise location of gunfire.

TPD said it’s a tool that will help with the city’s Crime Reduction Plan.

"There is no technology that is the end all, be all," said Assistant Police Chief Chris Karl. "ShotSpotter allows us the technology to get to the gunfire incident quickly and safely in order to save lives."

According to the department, the ShotSpotter technology will cover two square miles in Tacoma later this fall, with the initial deployment occurring in the Hosmer area. It’s part of a two-year pilot program.

Wednesday’s meeting allowed citizens the opportunity to ask questions about the new technology.

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One woman asked how the sensors would work and, if successful or not, would they be moved.

A spokesperson for the company behind ShottSpotter said the success of the program would be measured through data that would be made accessible to the public via the police department’s website.

"We’re about data, facts and transparency," said SoundThinking’s Alfred Lewers Jr., senior director of Trauma Response and Community Engagement.

Others in the crowd wanted to know who would foot the bill for the program.

According to TPD, taxpayers are not footing the bill.

"Thanks to a grant from the Bureau of Justice Administration, the Tacoma Police Department is pursuing a pilot with ShotSpotter and other technologies to help address gun violence in our city. The Smart Policing Initiative funding will be used to implement and evaluate ShotSpotter and its ability to provide immediate identification of gunshots and their exact locations, which is intended to reduce response times and allow for improved investigations," said a TPD spokesperson.

"You can’t put a price on saving lives," said John Brown.

Brown lives in the Hosmer Street area where the technology will be deployed.

"I’m all for this technology and it helping to save lives," he said."

The next ShotSpotter community meeting is set for Thursday, August 22 at 6 p.m. The location is the 4-sector substation, at 400 East 56th St. in Tacoma.