Mayor’s Expansion Of ShotSpotter Will Bring Gun Detection Program To Coney Island
Cops in Coney Island will soon be getting some new tech to help keep a lid on gun violence.
As part of his 2017 budget proposal released Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to expand the NYPD’s ShotSpotter program to precincts throughout the five boroughs — including Coney Island.
The $3 million dollar boost to the gun detection program more than doubles to amount of area covered by ShotSpotter and will equip 31 station houses with the technology.
City Councilman Mark Treyger, who urged the NYPD this summer to install ShotSpotter in Coney Island after a shooting wounded two people, welcomed the expansion of the program included in the mayor’s budget.
“This is a very important tool that will help law enforcement detect and follow up on gun violence,” Treyger said. “The message has to be sent loud and clear: Gun violence or any type of violence is not acceptable in our community.”
The NYPD debuted ShotSpotter last year in parts of Brooklyn and the Bronx. The technology uses microphones and sensors to identify the location where a shot was fired. Gunfire is immediately reported to police — an important feature considering 74 percent of gunshots discovered by the technology were not called in by residents, according to NBC New York.
Treyger said the new technology will allow law enforcement to respond more rapidly to gun violence and provide another tool for solving crimes.
“Often too few people are willing to come forward and report gunshots to 911. Either they are afraid to be labeled a snitch or they think someone else has called police,” he said. “ShotSpotter will begin to help police see patterns and build cases from the time the shot is detected.”
Treyger also noted that Coney Island’s 60th Precinct recently received 18 additional officers. The neighborhood will also see an extra 20 seasonal police in the area this summer and the local NYPD housing bureau also received 12 new officers — six of which will be assigned to complexes in Coney Island.
Efforts to bring down gun violence in Coney Island are already showing results. There were four homicides reported in the 60th Precinct between January 1 and December 27, 2015 — compared to 10 the previous year. The Coney Island station house had the second greatest decrease in homicides out of any Brooklyn precinct.
Treyger said that the extra officers combined with ShotSpotter technology — which he expects to be installed within a year — is not enough to wipe out gun violence in Coney Island. He insisted that the state’s Cure Violence program, which was expanded under de Blasio, is another crucial tool to make streets safer. The program uses community interventions, anti-violence messaging, and support services to bring down violence in high-crime areas.
“I don’t believe we can just handcuff our way out of this problem. There has to be a multi-pronged approach that addresses this issue at the root level,” said Treyger.
