Legis. Cooper Calls For Shotspots For Hotspots

Just two days after the latest shooting in Huntington Station, leaving one man dead and three wounded, Suffolk County Legislative Majority Leader Jon Cooper, D-Lloyd Harbor, continues in his attempt to deliver on his three-point action plan to combat crime in Huntington Station. Cooper filed a bill on Thursday directing the Suffolk County Police Department to study the feasibility of implementing the ShotSpotter® Gunshot Location System in crime-plagued communities throughout the county.

"By the County Executive's own admission, we have hot spots where crime and gun violence are out of control," Cooper said. "If this technology allows us to pinpoint exactly where these crimes are occurring, that will allow us to make the most effective use of our limited police resources in responding to these acts that put our families and communities in danger."

The ShotSpotter resolution will be laid on the table before the full Legislature at the Sept. 16 meeting, along with Cooper's bill calling for a police substation to be placed in Huntington Station, which was approved to the floor at the Legislature's Ways and Means Committee meeting on Tuesday.

Cooper's bill gives the Suffolk County Police Department 60 days to study the feasibility of implementing ShotSpotter and to determine which communities would most benefit from this proprietary acoustic surveillance technology system that places highly advanced microphones in densely populated areas that actively listen for the sounds of gunfire.

"First responders and law enforcement agencies around the world are actively utilizing the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System to give them an edge on gun crime by having otherwise unavailable firearms and violent crime alerts and activity data," said Gregg Rowland, Senior Vice President of ShotSpotter. "By creating more targeted tactical response and crime prevention strategies, these agencies are making their communities safer."

Cooper explained that across the country and in neighboring Nassau County, ShotSpotter has been implemented and hailed is an invaluable tool for reducing the number of gun crimes and increasing the number of arrests associated with gun violence.

"We have seen a dramatic difference in the areas covered by the ShotSpotter system," said Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey. "We have heard from many of the people we have interviewed in the Roosevelt and Uniondale areas that they are aware of the ShotSpotter system and that it has deterred them and others from firing their weapons. We have had arrests as a result of the ShotSpotter system, recoveries of weapons and have had some instances where we were able to get medical attention to victims before a 911 call had even been received by the NCPD Communications Bureau. ShotSpotter has been a valuable tool in our program to reduce gun violence."

Cooper added he is confident that once the SCPD sees how effectively Nassau County utilizes the technology, they will embrace it as well. And like Nassau, Cooper said he wants to fund the implementation of ShotSpotter using asset forfeiture funds to pay for the estimated $250,000 cost.

"This adds another important tool for our crime-fighting efforts," Cooper said. "We've already proven how useful it is to have automatic 'eyes' covering our crime-prone areas. Now we'll have 'ears' to hear where the crime is coming from as well."