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I I I' I . I! I 8. STAFF REPORTS --- A. THE URBAN GUNSHOT LOCATOR SYSTEM: COUNCIL CONSIDERATION AND ACTION (304) I) Staff report; REPORT: Police Chief Bolanos, March 17, 1997 Police Chief Bolanos presented the staff report which provided the history, description of the system, Phase I and Phase II trials, costs, how the system works, false alarms, criteria for police responses; and why he was recommending Council approval of continued negotiations with Trilon, the inventor of the Shotspotter Gunshot Locator System. Police Chief Bolanos, Police Captain Vermeer, and Police Network Coordinator Batsford displayed computer generated slides illustrating important aspects of the System. Police Chief Bolanos said the target area was one square mile bounded by Middlefield Road, Woodside Road, 5th Avenue and Highway 101. Sensors were installed on rooftops and when sensors picked up and reported a loud noise it was displayed on the - computer at the main Police Facility, 1301 Maple Street. Dispatchers interpreted the computer information and listened to the noise to determine if a unit should be dispatched to the area pinpointed by the System. Police Chief Bolanos said the cost of the system would be shared with the County of San Mateo, and subject to further negotiations, the purchase price might be $85,000 with $42,500 as the City's share, and maintenance costs could be $1500 per month. He described the County's contributions that will offset the $25,000 the City paid to fund the Phase I and Phase II trials. Police Chief Bolanos played tapes of gunshots and described how the System requires at least four sensors must detect sounds before an alert is mapped on the System, and how dispatch can differentiate between sounds. He said of the 66 system alerts reported in the Phase II Trial, police units were dispatched 48 times. Of the 48 responses, 21 were confirmed gunfire, 12 were unknown explosions, and 15 were not gunfire. Chief Bolanos said Redwood City Police respond to approximately 3,200 alarms each year, and in less than I % of the alarms are crimes actually in progress. He said Redwood City Police respond to an average of8 false alarms every day. Police Chief Bolanos said the System was a deterrent to random gunfire, and there --- was sufficient anecdotal evidence to believe the System was in large part responsible for the dramatic decrease in dangerous gunfire in the target area. He said the System REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTE BOOK NO 55 MARCH 17, 1997 MINUTES Page 1\10. 199 PAGE 5