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Police present 30-day shots-fired map; chiefs stress data-driven deployment
Summary
Chief Smith presented a 30-day map of shots-fired calls ending July 18, 2025, showing higher counts in several districts; the department said the counts derive from 911/CAD calls and include possible duplicate reports and fireworks-related calls.
Police Chief Smith presented a shots-fired map covering the 30 days ending July 18, 2025, and told the Public Safety Committee the figures come from 911/CAD call entries and are used to guide deployment.
Chief Smith said the past 30 days showed elevated reports in several districts: District 9 (Pines Road/West Freeport) with 36 reports, District 7 (Queensborough) with 27, District 11 (West Cedar Grove) with 28, District 4 (Highland) with 26 and others. He noted the map differs from year-to-date presentations and is limited to the prior 30 days.
When Councilman Jackson asked whether multiple discharges count as one incident, Chief Smith explained that each incident counts as one call for service: —If a person fires 2 shots that's counted as 1 incident.— The chief also said July 4th reporting is included in the 30-day window and likely raises the figures due to celebratory gunfire.
Chief Smith cautioned that the shots-fired metric is not a precise measure of criminal shootings; rather, it tallies calls to 911 reporting gunfire. Duplicate calls from different callers can register as separate incidents, he said, and some calls may reflect fireworks or other non-criminal discharges. The department uses the data to target resources: —It helps us to develop strategies to try to address it,— Smith said.
Council members discussed ShotSpotter and similar technologies. Chief Smith said ShotSpotter costs about $100,000 per square mile per year and questioned the value for the city, noting in his view many gunshot calls are reported by citizens and the technology often provides an alert after citizens have already called.
No policy change or procurement decision on acoustic detection systems was made at the meeting.
