Bridgeport police sign agreement to bring ShotSpotter to city housing
By: News 12 Staff Jul 18, 2018, 7:44pm Updated on: Jul 18, 2018
Bridgeport police announced Wednesday that they've reached an agreement to bring an automatic gunfire detection system called ShotSpotter to all of the city's housing projects.
News 12 Connecticut
reported in May that ShotSpotter would be coming to Bridgeport. It's an automated system that uses computerized sensors placed on buildings and lamp posts that detects gunfire and eliminates the need for a person to call 911 to report shots whenever they occur.
Police Chief AJ Perez says the $180,000 system, which is paid for by grants, will dramatically improve response time.
"It's going to help the police department, it's going to help the community, and it helps everyone," he says.
Both police and residents say the system is long overdue.
"I would be ecstatic, because I would know that when the shootings happen the cops can go right to where it occurs," says Angela Torres, who lives in Bridgeport's Trumbull Gardens complex.
Perez says the ShotSpotter installation will begin immediately.