COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Division of Police will be testing its gunfire detection system on Wednesday and Thursday on the city's west side.
The tests will be conducted over a two-day period between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the old Cooper Stadium. Residents and businesses in the area are warned to anticipate hearing multiple gunshots.
According to police, testing will happen in a secure and safe environment that is away from the public.
ShotSpotter detects when gunshots are fired and sends location information to police officers in the neighborhood. ShotSpotter was first brought to the city back in February 2019.
In 2022, Columbus police recovered shell casings in 1,054 separate ShotSpotter alerts. Officers made 45 arrests for weapons offenses, 29 arrests for other offenses and seized 45 firearms because of the alerts.
Here's how the program works:
Hundreds of acoustic sensors are placed throughout the city.
As soon as gunfire is detected, the computer sends the sound, and specific location to a computer inside a police cruiser.
What once took an officer six or seven minutes to respond to shots fired is down to 60 to 90 seconds.