Police: New Technology Could Help Detect Gunfire
by Caroline Lowe
Minneapolis (WCCO) ? Royce Schiller describes the emotional pain of having his mother, Theresa, be the victim of a random shooting that cost her an eye.
"It's pretty devastating to hear your mom has been shot," Royce Schiller said. "I thought she was dead."
The shooting happened on Minneapolis' North Side nearly two weeks ago as Theresa Schiller and her husband were driving in their minivan at 8th and Penn. The shooter is still free.
"I hope they go to jail, and I hope they just really think about what they did, and I hope they realize that they hurt such a good woman," Royce Schiller said.
Minneapolis police say calls about gunshots are up 52 percent compared to one year ago.
"When we get a call for shots fired, police officers drive to the general area, drive around, look for a victim or someone who will talk to them, and in most cases, we don't find anybody," Minneapolis Police Lt. Greg Reinhardt said.
They hope a new tool will help get them to the scenes of shootings more quickly and with greater accuracy.
The tool is a gunfire detector gadget. Its wireless sensors pick up the sound of gunshots and differentiate from other loud noises, such as fireworks.
When a gun goes off, a sound wave registers on the device, which sends a message within seconds to the police dispatch computers. It can detect gunfire as close as 10 feet away in a two-mile range.
"We'll go to the location where we think the offender is," Reinhardt said. "We will have better prosecutions, we will make more arrests, we will be able to protect people in a more quick and timely fashion."
Police will keep the actual location of the gun detectors secret, but say they will be installed in the hottest crime neighborhoods in the city.
Charleston, S.C. is one of several cities that have already installed the gun sensors. Besides making more arrests, police report decreases in the number of shots fired.
In one case, Charleston officers responded to a house where they found a suspect still there -- along with a loaded 9mm pistol and a bulletproof vest.
Reinhardt emphasizes the detectors will not replace officers on the street or concerned citizens who call to report shootings. But he also wants to send a message to criminals.
"We want to create the impression, if not the reality, that if you fire a gun in Minneapolis, you are going to get caught," Reinhardt said.
Reinhardt said he hopes to have the system up and running by summer, and will ask the Minneapolis City Council for money to pay for it next month.
The main system being considered by Minneapolis is called SpotShotter. It could cost up to $350,000, and some community groups are hoping to pitch in.
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