With almost half a million dollars in federal grant money, Toledo police will be able to install new technology designed to detect gunshots in the city, allowing them to respond to shootings faster and begin investigations earlier.
The grant, awarded to Toledo this week by the U.S. Department of Justice, is for $492,000. The Toledo Police Department plans to use the money to purchase a program called ShotSpotter, Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz announced during a news conference on Thursday.
ShotSpotter is designed to detect the sound of gunshots and alert law enforcement to a specific location where the shots occurred, the mayor said. Rather than wait for someone to call 911 to report hearing a gunshot, which doesn’t always happen, police can respond to the incident directly.
The sensors the program uses can distinguish the sound of gunshots from other noises, Mayor Kapszukiewicz said.
“They can distinguish [a gunshot] from a car backfiring,” he said. “They can distinguish it from a firework.”
On average, in other cities that use the program, police can get to the scene of an alert within 90 seconds, he said. If there’s a victim who needs medical attention, emergency crews will be able to find them and treat them faster. Officers can also begin gathering evidence right away.
“This is a big deal for Toledo,” he said.
The plan is for ShotSpotter to cover four square miles, said Lt. Kevan Toney, spokesman for TPD. The specific coverage area has not yet been determined. A timeline for when the program will be up and running also has not been set, though Lieutenant Toney said the hope is that it will be up by sometime next year.
Toledo will become the fourth city in Ohio and the 91st in the country to implement this technology, the mayor said. He spoke about the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old, Kenneth Veley, during the summer, saying police received reports of gunshots the night before the youth’s body was found but could not find where the shots had occurred.
With ShotSpotter, it’s possible the officers could have found the scene much earlier, Mayor Kapszukiewicz said.
Toledo Police Chief George Kral said so far this year in the city, there have been 364 shooting incidents, 146 people shot, and 24 gun homicides, five of which included juvenile victims.
“ShotSpotter has the potential to be a game-changer in Toledo,” Chief Kral said.
The chief emphasized that, while ShotSpotter could be an incredible tool, it is still just a tool. The police still need the help of community members to combat violent crime.
“Our citizens still need to call 911 when they see or hear gunshots,” he said.
But as a whole, the ShotSpotter program will increase response rates and drastically reduce response times, Chief Kral said.
“This technology is a good thing for Toledo,” he said.
Contact Kate Snyder at ksnyder@theblade.com, 419-724-6282 or on Twitter @KL_Snyder
First Published September 27, 2018, 8:26 p.m.
