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With all the concentrated wealth in Jamaica..is none of the big wealthy and mighty interested in projects that can make them walk and sleep safer in Jamaica? I need to put some efforts on this powerball thing...A safer Jamaica should be a top priority for all Jamaicans.
Commish makes another appeal for 'ShotSpotter' technology
Thursday, October 24, 2013
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COMMISSIONER of Police Owen Ellington has made another appeal for the introduction of ShotSpotter technology in Jamaica, which he says has been known to reduce gun crimes by up to 80 per cent in areas where it has been used.
"We are recommending the introduction of the shot spotter technology to Jamaica because we have amongst the highest concentration of gun crimes anywhere in the world. ShotSpotter has been known to reduce gun crimes -- murders, shootings -- by up to 80 per cent in areas where it has been introduced. I have personally visited and toured certain police jurisdictions in America where it is used," the Ellington told a meeting of the Internal and External Affairs Committee at Gordon House in downtown Kingston on Tuesday.
Onlookers at a crime scene on Fairlane Avenue, St Andrew, last week Wednesday, where a man was shot and killed by gunmen. (PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS)
ELLINGTON... the ShotSpotter technology is an investment worth making
The ShotSpotter technology is said to have reduced gun crimes by up to 80 per cent in areas where it has been introduced.
Onlookers at a crime scene on Fairlane Avenue, St Andrew, last week Wednesday, where a man was shot and killed by gunmen. (PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS) 1/3
Essentially, the ShotSpotter is web-based technology that uses acoustic signals to triangulate and direct the police within a metre of where the gunshot was fired within nano-seconds.
"It gives the police accurate intelligence to act on and act with speed. It is evidential because it can be presented in a court of law," the police commissioner told the committee.
He said the introduction of the technology would save the police time and also save more lives.
"I will give you a practical example. If a gunshot is fired in a community any five or 10 householders could call the police and report that gunshot but they will give you a direction which is aligned to the window through which the sound waves come in so you could be going to the wrong place," he pointed out.
"In Kingston and St Andrew, well over 500 people are shot within three to four miles of the Kingston Public Hospital in any given year. Many of them bleed to death because they can't be found. The usual reports are that citizens heard the shots from the night before, but in the morning the police find the body. Many of these individuals could be found within seconds or minutes of being shot and be rushed off to hospital where their lives could be saved," he argued.
"There is a range of benefits which can be had from this kind of technology. We have seen it in operation and we recommend that it be introduced in Jamaica. We have actually done the gunfire concentration mapping of communities, we already know where it would be required as priority one, two, three, four, etcetera and we are in a position to give the kind of advice for that kind of thing," the police chief said.
In the meantime, he said the technology "is an investment worth making".
"Because when you calculate the cost of each gunshot injury in terms of loss of life, the impact on family, loss of production and everything else, the investment is serious value for money and it is worth doing. It has the potential for reducing gun violence so sharply and over the long term that you would find yourself recovering that investment in due time," he said further.
The ShotSpotter technology is held to be so sensitive that it can show if a gunman is in transit while shooting as well as tell if two gangs are firing at each other. The system, developed by a company in California called SST, is used by more than 70 police forces around the world, including in Brazil, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, New York state, Michigan, Massachusetts and California. It is credited with reducing killings in Canoas -- a city in Brazil which had a murder rate in 2009 of 40 per 100,000 population -- by 43 per cent in a single year.
Last year, the Ministry of National Security reportedly asked telecoms company Flow to prepare a business plan that the Planning Institute of Jamaica can take to funding organisations, principally the European Union, to raise the US$6.4 million ($565 million) needed to implement the system for five years.
In the meantime, the police have also called for the build-out of closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems in townships and major intersections across the island. "It is very very good evidential value in tracking the movement of criminals, especially those travelling in stolen motor vehicles," Commissioner Ellington said.
He said the system also provides what some experts refer to as a 'ring of steel' around citizens and townships and acts as a very strong deterrent to the commission of street crimes.
"We would strongly recommend that a minimum portion of the budget for infrastructure maintenance be dedicated to building out this technology so that it can be used by law enforcement to make our communities safer," he said.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2ie6YomHr
Commish makes another appeal for 'ShotSpotter' technology
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Tweet
COMMISSIONER of Police Owen Ellington has made another appeal for the introduction of ShotSpotter technology in Jamaica, which he says has been known to reduce gun crimes by up to 80 per cent in areas where it has been used.
"We are recommending the introduction of the shot spotter technology to Jamaica because we have amongst the highest concentration of gun crimes anywhere in the world. ShotSpotter has been known to reduce gun crimes -- murders, shootings -- by up to 80 per cent in areas where it has been introduced. I have personally visited and toured certain police jurisdictions in America where it is used," the Ellington told a meeting of the Internal and External Affairs Committee at Gordon House in downtown Kingston on Tuesday.
Onlookers at a crime scene on Fairlane Avenue, St Andrew, last week Wednesday, where a man was shot and killed by gunmen. (PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS)
ELLINGTON... the ShotSpotter technology is an investment worth making
The ShotSpotter technology is said to have reduced gun crimes by up to 80 per cent in areas where it has been introduced.
Onlookers at a crime scene on Fairlane Avenue, St Andrew, last week Wednesday, where a man was shot and killed by gunmen. (PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS) 1/3
Essentially, the ShotSpotter is web-based technology that uses acoustic signals to triangulate and direct the police within a metre of where the gunshot was fired within nano-seconds.
"It gives the police accurate intelligence to act on and act with speed. It is evidential because it can be presented in a court of law," the police commissioner told the committee.
He said the introduction of the technology would save the police time and also save more lives.
"I will give you a practical example. If a gunshot is fired in a community any five or 10 householders could call the police and report that gunshot but they will give you a direction which is aligned to the window through which the sound waves come in so you could be going to the wrong place," he pointed out.
"In Kingston and St Andrew, well over 500 people are shot within three to four miles of the Kingston Public Hospital in any given year. Many of them bleed to death because they can't be found. The usual reports are that citizens heard the shots from the night before, but in the morning the police find the body. Many of these individuals could be found within seconds or minutes of being shot and be rushed off to hospital where their lives could be saved," he argued.
"There is a range of benefits which can be had from this kind of technology. We have seen it in operation and we recommend that it be introduced in Jamaica. We have actually done the gunfire concentration mapping of communities, we already know where it would be required as priority one, two, three, four, etcetera and we are in a position to give the kind of advice for that kind of thing," the police chief said.
In the meantime, he said the technology "is an investment worth making".
"Because when you calculate the cost of each gunshot injury in terms of loss of life, the impact on family, loss of production and everything else, the investment is serious value for money and it is worth doing. It has the potential for reducing gun violence so sharply and over the long term that you would find yourself recovering that investment in due time," he said further.
The ShotSpotter technology is held to be so sensitive that it can show if a gunman is in transit while shooting as well as tell if two gangs are firing at each other. The system, developed by a company in California called SST, is used by more than 70 police forces around the world, including in Brazil, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, New York state, Michigan, Massachusetts and California. It is credited with reducing killings in Canoas -- a city in Brazil which had a murder rate in 2009 of 40 per 100,000 population -- by 43 per cent in a single year.
Last year, the Ministry of National Security reportedly asked telecoms company Flow to prepare a business plan that the Planning Institute of Jamaica can take to funding organisations, principally the European Union, to raise the US$6.4 million ($565 million) needed to implement the system for five years.
In the meantime, the police have also called for the build-out of closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems in townships and major intersections across the island. "It is very very good evidential value in tracking the movement of criminals, especially those travelling in stolen motor vehicles," Commissioner Ellington said.
He said the system also provides what some experts refer to as a 'ring of steel' around citizens and townships and acts as a very strong deterrent to the commission of street crimes.
"We would strongly recommend that a minimum portion of the budget for infrastructure maintenance be dedicated to building out this technology so that it can be used by law enforcement to make our communities safer," he said.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2ie6YomHr
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