TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Douglas J. Hewett, ICMA-CM, City Manager
Jeffrey Yates, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Chris Lowery, Strategic & Performance Analytics Manager
Andrew Brayboy, Senior Corporate Performance Analyst
DATE: May 11, 2026
RE:Title
Evaluating the Wilson Center's ShotSpotter Program Evaluation and FindingsTitle
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COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
ShotSpotter aligns with the City's FY26 Strategic Priority 1 and supports Goal 1: Safe & Secure Community by contributing to response operations and situational awareness. The evaluation provides data on response times, alert activity, and associated outcomes, informing how the technology fits within the City's broader public safety approach. This analysis supports Council's data-informed decision-making regarding public safety strategies and resource deployment.
Executive Summary:
I. WHAT THE DATA SHOWS
* ShotSpotter improves speed and precision of police response. Officers are dispatched ~135 seconds (over 2 minutes) faster for ShotSpotter alerts than for 911 calls alone, and arrive on scene ~2 minutes sooner. FPD's public ShotSpotter Dashboard reports an 97% location accuracy rate as of April 2026.
* ShotSpotter substantially increased in-zone notification volume. Within the zones over 18 months, the system produced 685 ShotSpotter-only alerts and 106 ShotSpotter + 911 alerts, compared to only 88 resident-initiated 911-only calls - meaning the vast majority of in-zone gunshot notifications originated from ShotSpotter, not from residents.
* Productivity is substantially higher when ShotSpotter is paired with a 911 call. Across every measure, ShotSpotter + 911 alerts outperform ShotSpotter-only alerts: shell casing recovery (52.5% vs. 16.5%), witness location (28.4% vs. 7.4%), victim identification (12.3% vs. 0.5%), aid rendered to victims (9.3% vs. 0.4%), arrests (9.8% vs. 1....
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