The habitual danger of celebratory gunfire on New Year's Eve has prompted Arizona law enforcement to employ technology to mitigate this peril. Glendale Police, who have been using ShotSpotter since 2002, were on high alert during the holiday, as the sound detection system helps them pinpoint the origin of gunshots with precision. According to a report from 12News, ShotSpotter's sensors are strategically placed throughout the city to discern the sound of gunfire from other noises, such as fireworks. The rapid analysis and confirmation process, typically under a minute, enables dispatchers to send police directly to the site of the shooting.
Traces of this problem surface in community experiences, where citizens like Dot Roberts of Mesa recall "random gunfire and bullets richocheted off my mom’s car," as described in an AZFamily interview. These incidents echo the tragedy of Shannon Smith, whose untimely death in 1999 from a stray bullet led to the enactment of Shannon’s Law, making it a felony to discharge a firearm in any Arizona city or town.
In their ongoing efforts, Glendale PD's Real Time Crime Center was open to the public eye, showcasing their ability to track shootings in real time. "It comes up with GPS aerial view coordinates and can actually pinpoint every single shot," Officer Moroni Mendez told AZFamily. This system's impact on policing in Glendale doesn't stop at tracking but extends to solving other crimes.
"We can collect that ground evidence and use other scientific methods to connect those [guns] to maybe other shootings that have taken place that night, or the City of Phoenix or other parts of the Valley," Detective Brian Piech said. This year's initiative was two-fold: Detectives aimed to solve unsolved crimes using evidence collected at gunfire sites, and, they hoped to deter individuals from discharging their firearms. The urgency of the matter cannot be overstated, as Piech warned, "In Glendale, we don’t want you shooting guns for New Year’s Eve. What goes up must come down," 12News stated.
