Situation
Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) and the city of Las Vegas were seeking a new way to reduce the cycle of gun violence that challenged some of their neighborhoods.
Results
LVMPD, in partnership with the Clark County Commission, began using SoundThinking’s ShotSpotter gunshot detection system in 2017 in a pilot installation in two of their hotspot areas for crime. In the first six months, the city experienced a 26 percent reduction in violent crime for a persistent hotspot. In the first nine months, the city reported a 43 percent reduction in murders in the same key area covered by ShotSpotter.
26%
Reduction in violent crime in a persistent hotspot
86%
Faster response to reported gunfire events than from 9-1-1 calls
43%
Drop in murders in a persistent hotspot
One of the key issues they discovered was a massive under-reporting of 9-1-1 calls informing law enforcement of gunfire incidents. In fact, the agency found that 65 percent of the real-time alerts were for gunfire unreported to police. For gunshots that were reported, ShotSpotter alerts enabled a faster response in 86 percent of the cases. Being on the scene faster allowed for emergency responders to better attend to victims, collect evidence and solve crimes. In 2019, the program expanded to eight coverage areas and from six square miles to 23.5.
To stop gun violence, we need to know where it’s occurring and ShotSpotter has detected hundreds of shootings that would have otherwise gone unreported. Our expansion of ShotSpotter is helping us reduce crime and make our neighborhoods safer.
