NEWBURGH – The Newburgh City Council Monday night is expected to subscribe to the ShotSpotter gun violence program for 18 months in an effort to curb gun violence.
The $351,000 cost will provide for the installation of sensors and related
software and monitoring that will pinpoint exactly where gunshots rang
out, what type of weapon and caliber of bullet, and who fired first if
a shootout involves a suspect and police. And all that information would
be transmitted to officers in their patrol cars, on their smart phones
and other devices, all within 30 seconds of the incident.
SST Inc. Vice President Jack Pontious told the city council Thursday night during a workshop session that cities across New York and the country that subscribe to the service have, on average, seen a 35-percent drop in gun violence in the first two years of the program.
Mayor Judy Kennedy said once the word would get out that the program is in operation, it might have another benefit.
“There is a psychological impact here especially if you get the word out to the community that you are doing this and this is what could happen, there is a psychological to people who want to commit these kinds of offensives that may start thinking twice about coming to the City of Newburgh,” Kennedy said.
If after the initial 18 months the city can document a dramatic drop in gun violence, local lawmakers said they might be able to sell public-private partnership funding for another year-and-a-half with institutions the likes of St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, SUNY Orange and Mount Saint Mary College.
