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Sniper sensors from Iraq and Afghanistan to be used in Birmingham
Technology that locates snipers in Afghanistan and Iraq is being deployed by police on the streets of Birmingham to identify where a gun is fired from.
The ShotSpotter will use audio sensors spread around the northwest of the city, where most of the gun crime occurs, and will recognise the acoustic soundwaves made by a shot fired up to two miles away.
Once a gun has been fired the sensors will detect the location to within ten metres. The system will send the details to the force control room within seconds. Armed officers can then be scrambled without the need for a 999 call and CCTV cameras can be focused on the area.
The technology, the first of its kind in Britain, is also able to tell whether a gun has been fired from a moving car, which direction it is travelling in and how many guns have been fired.
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The system has been endorsed by the Association of Chief Police Officers. Several other forces, including the Metropolitan Police, Merseyside, Manchester and Nottingham are watching what happens in Birmingham.
ShotSpotter is used in 51 cities in America and some areas have had a 32 per cent reduction in gun crime.
The money to pay for the technology, which costs £135,000 and has an annual upkeep of £20,850, has been found by the Safer Birmingham Partnership, made up of West Midlands Police, Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Fire Service and other agencies.
Officials who are working with GunShotLocating Ltd, set up to sell the equipment here, hope to have it operating within the next few months.
Inspector Kevin Borg, project leader with the partnership, said: “We may not get 999 calls every time a gun is fired, as members of the public are sometimes scared and may not want to report gunfire in case of reprisals. But we now don’t have to wait for a member of the public to dial 999; we’ll know when a gun is fired.”
He acknowledges that, although gun crime figures have been falling in the area over the past few years, the new technology is likely to make them rise.
“We could get a spike in the number of gunshots recorded because every gun shot in the area will be captured by the sensors but once we start responding there should be a reduction in the number of shootings as criminals begin to see we are getting to the scene of a shooting very quickly and getting an increase in conviction rates.”
West Midlands Police has been discussing with the Crown Prosecution Service the prospect of using in court the evidence collected from the system.
Ayoub Khan, a councillor and Cabinet member for community safety, said: “Birmingham is one of the safest core cities in the UK and we will do everything we can to make sure it continues to be a place where residents and visitors can be safe and feel safe.”
Chief Superintendent Chris McKeogh, of Birmingham police, said: “The technology will enable us to respond faster and more effectively to firearms incidents, therefore minimising the harm to local communities and maximising the opportunity to seize illegal firearms, catch offenders and potentially save lives.”
Birmingham first city in the UK to get bullet beating ShotSpotter technology
BirminghamMail.net, By Mark Cowen - May 24, 2010
Birmingham will be the first city in the country to introduce a sophisticated ‘bullet beater’ which can pinpoint the exact location of gunmen when they open fire.
The ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System can alert police to the scene of street shootings within seconds and is already being used across America to slash the country’s huge gun crime problem.
Its sensors can tell where and from what angle a shot was fired, the umber of weapons used, their calibre and even if a gunman was moving at speed.
The Safer Birmingham Partnership, which is behind the move, known as Project Safe and Sound, said it hoped the technology would help to continue the city’s gang-busting success.
Chief Supt Chris McKeogh, commander of Birmingham West and central police, said: “We’re delighted to be the first city in the UK to secure this technology and are confident that it will assist us in our continued efforts to reduce gun crime.
“The technology will enable us to respond faster and more effectively to firearms incidents, therefore minimising the harm to communities and maximising the opportunity to seize illegal firearms, catch offenders and save lives.
“A further advantage is that it enables us to deploy officers more effectively to scenes of crime.
“This technology will tell us how many firearms have been discharged prior to officers arriving which enables us to maximise the safety of our officers and public.”
Coun Ayoub Khan, Cabinet Member for Community Safety said: “We will do everything we can to make sure it continues to be a place where residents and visitors to the city can be safe and feel safe.”
It is understood it could be deployed on the streets over the next few months as part of an initial two-year arrangement.
The ShotSpotter system, which recognises the soundwaves of bullets, works by using an network of microphone sensors grouped in crime hotspots to pinpoint gunfire to within 25 metres, from a distance of up to two miles away.
It is based on technology used by the US military in war zones.
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