High-tech gunshot location system being installed in Youngstown

YOUNGSTOWN — Officials with an acoustic gunshot-location system to help police pinpoint where shots are fired are in Youngstown preparing to install the equipment.

City officials and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, were to speak today at a press conference about the program. Ryan sponsored legislation to provide Youngstown with the $530,000 needed to purchase the equipment from ShotSpotter Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. Company officials will also attend today’s event.

ShotSpotter is an electronic system that uses sensors and satellite mapping to pinpoint gunfire within 10 feet of its origin and speed up response time. The system sets up sensors in a zone, uses triangulation to locate the source of the sound and relays that information to a dispatcher. It can even determine the shooter’s speed and direction of travel when multiple shots are fired.

The system installation will be done in about three months, city Police Chief Jimmy Hughes said.