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Uploaded: Friday, November 2, 2012, 11:49 AM
EPA police receive $300,000 anti-gunfire grant
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by Sue Dremann
Palo Alto Weekly Staff
A new project to reduce gun violence in East Palo Alto has received a $300,000 "Smart Policing Initiative" grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The project -- "Using a Place-Based Technology to Address Shootings in East Palo Alto" -- will study ShotSpotter technology that pinpoints where gunfire occurs.
The project will look at how police strategies have changed since the city began using the ShotSpotter system; to understand the nature and context of shootings in East Palo Alto and identify hot spots; and to develop policing tactics to help prevent gunfire and develop targeted responses.
East Palo Alto has used ShotSpotter technology since 2009 to immediately respond to locations of gunfire and to obtain evidence, such as the number of rounds fired, the precise location of the incident, and the time and duration of the incident.
The East Palo Alto study is being undertaken in partnership with the Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy at the Berkeley Law School.
The federal Smart Policing Initiative provides funding to cities to collect and analyze data and devise solutions to such problems as street robberies, juvenile prescription drug abuse, repeat violent offenders and neighborhood drug markets. Nearly 30 cities nationwide have received grants, including in the California cities of Glendale, Los Angeles, Indio and San Diego.Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Questionable-Use-of-DOJ-Money, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Nov 2, 2012 at 12:05 pm > East Palo Alto has used ShotSpotter technology since 2009 to
> immediately respond to locations of gunfire and to obtain
> evidence, such as the number of rounds fired, the precise
> location of the incident, and the time and duration of
> the incident.
From time-to-time, mention of the so-called Shotspotter system appears in articles about EPA, and the EPA police. If memory serves, the EPA Police have never arrested anyone because of an alert from this system. It's also hard to find any information on the number of alerts from this system, or the location of the gunshots, in EPA.
Any one from EPA have any better infomation on the use and effectiveness, to date, of this technology?
If it turns out to be true--kind of makes one wonder why this grant has been given, and what of value will result from any "studies" of the EPA Police Department's use of the technology.
Seems grant smacks more of "wealth redistribution" than a meaningful use of public funds.
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Posted by EPAResident, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 2, 2012 at 10:01 pm Shotspotter is definitely a waste of money. Here's why... First, the devices placed throughout the city are activated with any loud bang. Second, police come speeding through neighborhood streets running through intersections just to get there first and of course they never get there fast enough to catch anyone, at the same time the culprit walks in the opposite direction. Third, there's so much money being put into this retarded program already, why put more money into something that clearly doesn't show results... Positive ones I mean.
I've lived here many years.. Police are not effective. So many crimes go unsolved because the force is unresponsive, apathetic, and think theyre so much better than the residents of East Palo Alto. Their mission seems not to be of taking care of the community but rather of making arrests only to show that they are doing their job.
I see the police and I look the other way.. I am a law abiding person don't get me wrong, but when theyre not being effective.. Why reward them with more financing. More money does not mean more effectiveness it just means more money. Basically, from what I see this shotspotter idea is not working. Police are not from here and only come here to get a paycheck. Something else needs to be tried. Perhaps a police force that knows and cares a little more and maybe even levels with the residents of the City of East Palo Alto.
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Posted by Old Palo Alto, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Nov 3, 2012 at 6:03 pm [Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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Posted by Malia, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 3, 2012 at 11:52 pm
More like "Wasting Taxpayer Money Initiative"
The more people shooting each other the more overtime for the cops.
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