TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo Police Department has added another tool to fight crime in the city with a third ShotSpotter device on the east side. The device is able to monitor when gunshots go off in its surrounding area.
TPD said they look at extensive crime data to determine where to best place the devices, saying it will allow for them to act faster and more effectively when someone pulls the trigger.
It was paid for through a grant from the American Rescue Plan Act. The other two ShotSpotters are in the north end and south Toledo.
The technology uses acoustic sensors to detect and locate gunshots across its range. That information is then reviewed by ShotSpotter's Incident Review Center before being sent to local 911 dispatchers, who then send it to officers.
TPD said this entire process takes less than 60 seconds and has a 97% accuracy rate.
They said 80% of gunshots in neighborhoods are not reported to 911.
"A lot of these gunshots don't get reported to 911, so we don't even know about them," TPD Public Information Officer Paul Davis said. "It allows us to get there, collect evidence, detain suspects, find witnesses easier and do follow-up investigations."
From its inception in June 2019 through April of 2021, TPD says ShotSpotter alerts alone, with no associated 911 call, have resulted in 115 guns being taken off the streets and 151 arrests.
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