Kankakee and North Chicago in Illinois deploy gunshot detection solution for patrol
North Chicago, a suburb 30 miles outside Chicago with 30,000 residents, was looking for a solution to help law enforcement respond more quickly and more specifically to incidents of gun violence. In the fall of this year, the city deployed ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection solution aimed to help law enforcement more effectively respond to, investigate and deter crime.
“We are a smaller city, but are no less susceptible to the ravages of gun violence in our community,” said Mayor Leon Rockingham, Jr. of North Chicago. “Rather than wait for a problem to get out of hand, our city has chosen to preemptively address this issue with ShotSpotter. In just the first three months we have already seen very impressive results. We look forward to the long term impact ShotSpotter will make for the safety of the residents of North Chicago.”
With approximately 26,000 residents, Kankakee is 60 miles south of Chicago and began its deployment of the gunshot detection platform in November of this year. “We are finding that the ShotSpotter technology is making our community safer in a financially responsible way by maximizing the impact of our officers’ response to shots fired calls,” said Frank Kosman, Kankakee Chief of Police. Kosman added that the tool has helped officers respond quicker and with a more precise location of shootings, along with more information about an event, arming officers with more information before reaching a scene. “[The tool] is critical for increasing the effectiveness of the investigations of shots fired calls and makes a statement that our city is taking proactive steps to reduce gun violence," he added.
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