ANC2C02 Forum

The Metropolitan Police Department released this announcement Wednesday on ShotSpotter technology being introduced to the Shaw and Mt Vernon Square communities:

On Friday March 21, the Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP) completed negotiations with ShotSpotter and on Monday forwarded the contract the Office of the Attorney General for legal review. ... [T]he contract will arrive at the City Council during a recess period and therefore cannot be logged until March 31. Council will vote, if they have a meeting on April 1, or if not, the 10 day passive approval period begins. This means the contract would be deemed approved on April 10.

Concurrently, members of the Department are working with the Mt. Vernon/Shaw community to obtain approval from property owners to host gun shot sensors. Once the contract is approved, construction can begin and the system shall be operational by the end of April. ShotSpotter has never deployed a system so rapidly, and has some reservations. However, ShotSpotter is fully committed to helping the Department and the Mt. Vernon/Shaw community gain access to their gun shot detection system as quickly as possible.

Shaw and Mt Vernon Square residents, leaders and activists should be proud of their efforts to work with government officials to push for new technologies and strategies to effectively reduce violent crime in our area.