ShotSpotter Senior Vice President Gregg Rowland said the company no longer sells the equipment but has a new business model in which it will set up the system and "sell data" as a subscription service. The new approach eliminates the need for maintenance and has other advantages, as described in this article posted on the company's web site.
Rowland got a mixed reaction, with Councilman William Reid arguing that the city has "50,000 shot spotters" who light up the police switchboard with phone calls telling where shots have been fired. Reid said the ShotSpotter service would cost $14,000 a month, so if one shot was fired, it would cost $14,000 for detection or $1,400 each for 10 shots.
Reid also said he hadn't yet heard from the city's top police official, Police Director Martin Hellwig, on how the system would impact what Reid called "such a horrible crime rate" with seven recent homicides. He called for a multi-agency manpower response instead, but officials said the grant was only for technology.
"I just don't think it is a good idea," Reid said. "We should spend it on men."
Hellwig spoke favorably of the system and its success in Nassau County, where a large number of shots dwindled to "just a few."
Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs backed Hellwig by saying the system gets police to gunshot locations quicker.
Councilwoman Bridget Rivers agreed on the need for technology, citing possible harm to seniors or children from gunfire.
"People are still losing their lives, people are still getting shot and we're not doing anything," Rivers said.
Both Reid and Rivers asked for the gunshot detection system to be coordinated with a proposed surveillance cameras, though Reid said he has been hearing about the cameras since 2007 with no results.
But Councilman Cory Storch said he needs to get independent information on gun detection systems before he lends his support to the deal.
"I'm not going to vote yes or no (based) on a vendor presentation," he said.
(Last year, the previous $1 million deal was heavily promoted by the mayor and the vendor. See Plaintalker's commentary here.)
Council President Annie McWilliams called on the administration to provide such information by next week. The council's regular meeting is 8 p.m. Monday in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave.
--Bernice
Isn't that $165,000 PER YEAR? Over a 7 year period there's very little difference between a $1 million loan and the "subscription" lease. True, we would save maintenance and wouldn't own a bunch of outdated sensors at the end of the period, but my guess is that the purchase price is no longer $1MM. Hey, CFO: a simple lease versus buy spreadsheet showing total cost over a given period would be nice. Oh, right, I forgot, you're just a part-timer who takes his orders from the mayor and isn't about to upset the double-dipping applecart. My bad.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, $165K will buy us about one cop, for one complete evening shift, seven days a week.
Doesn't it seem odd to any of the council that the company is now selling a new business model? From $1 mil to a couple hundred thousand?
ReplyDeleteWhat happens if the company goes out of business?
Ms. Rivers should note that having or not having shotspotter is not going to preclude innocent people being shot. The system works after the shots have been fired, not before.
I am all for promoting anything that will help cut down on crime, but I think we should implement the camera system first with spot shotter as a back up. The cameras will act as a deterrent to crime. If people feel big brother is watching, they will likely think twice before doing something. The spot shotter will only report the gun fire after it happens. It will give police a chance to respond to a specific location, but with out a witness.
ReplyDeleteLast month, when I met with the Police Director (along with Councilwoman Rivers, who is the Chair of the city council's Public Safety Committee), I asked for data about ShotSpotter (comparative analyses, stats, etc.), not the marketing materials that had been previously presented. I am hopeful that the Director will be able to have that data for Monday's meeting.
ReplyDeleteRebecca
How about the shot spotters reporting children/teens who are traunt at school !!!
ReplyDeleteI don't see why a Mayor who was able to reduce murders by 300% even needs technology like this...
ReplyDeleteThis STUPID Spot Shotter just keeps coming up over and over again. Come on folks, you have 50k residents who can inform the police when shots are fired. This is a waste of time and resources. Use the grant funds to put some more police on FOOT patrol across the city. Crack down on the gangs and drug dealers like you do following 2-3 days of shootings. If the police made this a regular occurrence the city would get cleaned up. If the council approves this silly program they are foolish!
ReplyDeleteOnce again no one listens to the people. It’s not going to change anything. Will it deter crime when most of the shooters drive away? Will it detect stabbings, robberies and the like? We all know that police are the answer and if the mayor wants technology get the cameras working. I commend Mr. Reid for sticking to his “guns” and wanting police. Ms. Rivers is worrying about the children and seniors, I would worry about everyone in the town who may be harmed.
ReplyDeleteWake up Plainfield, get rid of our out of town inefficient public safety director, return our chief and lets get working on real solutions not taxpayer money spending schemes.
Im truly grateful and really impressed.
ReplyDeleteProposal Letter To Offer Services