SCRA and Shotspotter Announce Successful Installation of the Shotspotter Gunshot Location System for Richland County South Carolina
October 25, 2007
Mountain View, CA – October 23, 2007—The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is pleased to accept delivery of the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System® (GLS) from ShotSpotter, Inc., in cooperation with the South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA).
The system, deployed in the county surrounding Columbia, is a hybrid GLS that operates with ShotSpotter sensors connected to a combination of standard telephone lines and broadband wireless networks, providing immediate alerts of gunfire and forensic information to the sheriff’s dispatch center.
Recognizing the successful reduction of crime in areas where ShotSpotter systems are deployed, the SCRA awarded ShotSpotter with a grant to accelerate
development of interoperability between sensors designed for telephone lines and those designed for wireless communications networks. The result is the
hybrid ShotSpotter GLS® deployed today in Richland County.
SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney has seen the positive results achieved by the ShotSpotter GLS® and is, “very pleased to be able to bring this technology to Richland County. Because SCRA administers the Southeast Region of the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC-SE) and has a staff of trained public safety professionals, we are in a unique position to furnish leading-edge law enforcement, homeland security and public safety technology through the Southeastern US, as is being done today in Richland County.”
The hybrid capability enables the existing ShotSpotter customers with telephone line sensors to more easily and cost-effectively expand their areas of coverage using broadband wireless networks, which many cities are deploying for public Wi-Fi and other municipal uses.
“The successful partnership between ShotSpotter and NLECTC-SE has resulted in ShotSpotter expanding its offerings of invaluable gunshot location technology to the public safety marketplace,” said ShotSpotter’s vice president of Engineering, Doug McFarlin. “The system recently installed in Columbia, SC demonstrates ShotSpotter’s latest capability of combining wireless and wired sensors, interoperating and feeding alerts to a dispatch center console. This capability enables ShotSpotter to add wireless sensors to an existing system of telephone-line based sensors. Furthermore, customers now have the flexibility of choosing the sensor and communication method best suited for a particular location.”
By any measure, ShotSpotter is the leading provider of gunshot detection and location systems for public safety. Our technology provides real-time situational awareness that helps with incident prioritization, reduces response time and increases evidence collection,” said James Beldock, president and chief executive officer of ShotSpotter, Inc. “By combining gunfire location data with proactive policing, law enforcement has new mission critical tools necessary to address today’s violent crime. We are proud that our technology helps make communities safer throughout the USA, and we are honored that increased use of our technology by the Department of Defense will reduce the number of warfighters lost to enemy sniper attacks. We share the pride of our successes with two key supporters and partners, SCRA and NLECTC-SE.
About ShotSpotter, Inc. (www.shotspotter.com)
Located in Mountain View, CA, ShotSpotter, Inc., is the world’s leading developer of gunshot location systems and technology. Its flagship product currently protects the citizens of cities nationwide from Los Angeles, CA to Washington DC using a small number of inexpensive and easy-to-deploy sensors to detect and locate gunfire across large urban areas. The company also offers products to law enforcement, homeland security, and military markets.
The company’s patented technology has consistently produced arrests and weapons confiscations nationwide and has helped reduce gunfire and crime rates
in cities that deploy it. In 2004, its products assisted the FBI and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in identifying the convicted Columbus, Ohio highway sniper.
ShotSpotter was honored in 2000 for its technological vision and leadership, receiving the Computerworld Smithsonian Laureate Award, having been nominated by Microsoft Chairman William H. Gates. Its technology was added to the Smithsonian Museum’s permanent collection in honor of the company’s
achievements.
About SCRA (www.scra.org)
SCRA is a global leader in applied research and commercialization services with offices in Anderson, Charleston, and Columbia, South Carolina. SCRA collaborates to advance technology. SCRA provides technology-based solutions with assured outcomes with industry, government, and with research
universities like Clemson University, the University of South Carolina and the Medical University.
