In New Haven (Conn.), officers have returned to the time-honored tradition of the neighborhood beat cop–walking the beat, talking to citizens, and engaging with the community. At the same time, we are at the forefront of technology, expanding our use of the latest breakthroughs to leverage real-time intelligence to significantly reduce gun violence. You might wonder why a department with leading edge technology would choose to employ such an “old-school” beat-walking police practice. The answer is twofold: because we can, and because being engaged with our community helps reduce crime.
Our work is not done at Police Headquarters–it's done in the neighborhoods. It's our job to reach out to the community and to make it easy for its members to reach us. Technology enables us to get out of our offices, out of our patrol cars, and into the neighborhoods of New Haven so we can achieve the ultimate goal of community policing.
With specialized technology like ShotSpotter we will be able to further implement a smart policing strategy that provides us with timely and accurate gunfire intelligence. Using this real time information, we will have even greater success preventing, responding to, and following up on any actual or perceived gunfire. In most cities, gun violence is much larger than can be measured in homicides or gunshot victims–it is also vastly underreported. A recent study by SST Inc. showed fewer than 1 in 5 shooting incidents were reported to 911, and that neighborhoods with the most cases of illegal gunfire were the least likely to call it in.
Now we will be able to instantly verify and validate gunfire activity including the exact location of the gunfire, how many guns are involved, how many shooters are involved. If they are on the move, we can often know the speed and direction they are traveling. This critical information will provide us with faster notification, and also allow our officers to be more effective in how we respond. Without the notification technology, we would have to rely on 911 calls that would, at best, point us toward a large area of several blocks. Now we will have precise GPS locations. The 911 calls were typically logged 3 to 5 minutes after the first shots were fired, causing delays of several minutes before we could get officers on the scene.
With advanced gunfire intelligence, we will now be able to respond almost instantly and be prepared to most effectively utilize our resources. Every minute matters when there is a gunfire event and the upfront intelligence means we can resolve most incidents quickly, making it safer for our officers and for the community.
I can confidently say that the smart policing strategy will make a difference in how we work with our community. Where some of our citizens were either afraid to report gunfire incidents or were so used to it they ignored it, they will take notice of the reduction in crime, improved response, and personal follow up. The most vulnerable areas we serve are now reporting incidents at a higher rate because the citizens see that our smart policing strategy is working. They want their communities back. We all do.
We already take the time to follow up with residents after a gunfire event occurs, checking in to offer assistance. We know that the victims of gunfire violence are not just the people who have been shot, but that it can also have a profound effect on the families and neighborhoods–including children–who are exposed to gunfire violence regularly. That is another reason we want to engage with the community directly and develop personal, trusting relationships with those we serve.
The more success we have had with timely and accurate gunfire response, the more we can prevent it going forward. In New Haven, we like to say, “Use a gun illegally at your own peril”. We are happy to keep spreading the word about our gunfire intelligence technology and the results we are seeing and expect to further see. At the same time, we are able to free up more police resources to get to know the people in our communities. Our officers will have the notification technology right on their smartphones so they can be walking down the street or chatting with schoolchildren and be instantly notified when an incident occurs. This means they are not reliant on sitting in a patrol car or at a desk, but can have the technology on their belts anytime, anywhere. We also meet regularly with community advisory groups, such as clergy, youth advocates and citizen groups, to keep them informed of our smart policing strategy and seek their input for new ideas and improvements.
So now, if you see one of our officers walking the beat in the city of New Haven, stop and say hello. They are not strangers, they are part of the community. We are committed to a community-based policing strategy and we will be walking the walk and talking the talk to make sure New Haven is a safer community for all.
