25 Jul, 2013
New “National Gunfire Index” Can Track Illegal Gunfire in Major U.S. Cities
July 16, 2013, NEWARK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SST, Inc., today announced the launch of its National Gunfire Index which offers the most detailed record available of illegal gunfire activity, including non-homicide firearm violence, in major cities across the United States.
This previously unattainable data on gunfire activity provides a more comprehensive data set than has ever been available on the true volume, nature, and impact of the gun violence issue because it tracks all outdoor gunfire incidents in the areas sampled—and not only those that result in homicide, gunshot wound, or self-inflicted death.
These data are especially relevant amidst the current federal mandate calling for increased analysis and research of the gunfire violence epidemic. SST collected and analyzed the data from a statistical sample of the more than 70 cities nationwide where SST’s ShotSpotter® Flex℠ gunfire alert and analysis solution is currently deployed by law enforcement agencies.
“Police leaders looking to improve best practices will now have precise and detailed intelligence on the true extent of illegal gunfire activity in cities throughout the country, enabling them to better strategize and share information.”
“Unfortunately the existing data sources on gunfire activity rely on limited 9-1-1 calls; hospital reporting of gunshot wounds; and the minority of incidents which result in homicides or suicides. As a result, gun violence is significantly under reported—and misreported—at the very moment this critical epidemic needs precise and reliable data from a research perspective,” said Ralph A. Clark, president and chief executive officer of SST, Inc. “Our National Gunfire Index reports all gunfire incidents, even non-fatal and non-injury firearm violence, so you get a truer and more inclusive geographic mapping and accurate intelligence of the factual extent of gun violence.”
In the announcement of this new index, SST is releasing results from its first two quarters’ indices (Q1 and Q2 2013), which can be found at www.shotspotter.com/ngi. A sample of data points include:
- In cities which were covered during both 1Q and 2Q, the number of incidents rose from 7,584 during 1Q to 11,174 during 2Q, an increase of 47.3%.
- A total of 32,117 rounds were fired in these 11,174 incidents, an increase of 5,500 or 21% over 1Q. On average, 2.8 rounds were fired per incident. One single incident included 40 rounds fired by a fully automatic weapon. It occurred at 01:00 local time early on the morning of June 11, 2013. The weapon fired all 40 rounds in just 2.26 seconds.
- The city with the highest rate of gunfire during this period experienced an average of 417 gunfire incidents in a single square mile area during 2Q. This city’s gunfire rate per square mile was 4.3 times higher than the average number of rounds fired per square mile of 98 within the sample.
“Today’s most effective policing strategies combine proven practices and tactics with new data and intelligence. When you consider the tragic consequences of gun violence, it’s critical that law enforcement professionals have all of the information available to more effectively deploy resources in high crime areas,” said Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis. “Police leaders looking to improve best practices will now have precise and detailed intelligence on the true extent of illegal gunfire activity in cities throughout the country, enabling them to better strategize and share information.”
“SST has been closer to the science of illegal gunfire activity than any other source available,” said David Chipman, Senior Advisor for Mayors Against Illegal Guns. “I have no doubt this national gunfire index will help show legislators and policy makers the true enormity of the gun violence issue.”
Index Methodology
ShotSpotter gunfire alert and analysis solutions are deployed in over than 70 cities nationwide. For this quarter’s index, SST sampled ShotSpotter data from 33 of those cities. Since April 1, 2013, SST has added three cities to the list. ShotSpotter coverage per agency ranges from one to 17 square miles. Within the sample, the smallest coverage area was one square mile and the largest coverage area was nine square miles. The sample comprised 121 square miles total in the United States, an increase of 16 sq. mi (15%) during 2Q 2013.
Information about SST and ShotSpotter can be found at www.sst-inc.com or www.shotspotter.com.
Loading ...
Liked this article? Share it!