Glendale Police using mobile app to locate shots fired into the air on New Year’s Eve
Dec 31, 2021, 4:05 AM
(Glendale Police Department Photo)
PHOENIX — Glendale police officers will be patrolling the streets on New Year’s Eve using a mobile app that helps identify and locate gunshots that are fired into the air, the department said Thursday.
The Glendale Police Department in a press release said ShotSpotter provides officers with real-time gunshot location data, enabling informed decisions for faster and more accurate responses to celebratory gunfire that is a common problem for many cities over the holiday.
Patrols will be deployed around the city and at specific areas that had the highest amount of celebratory gunfire and fireworks recorded on the app during New Year’s Eve and July 4 last year, police said, and anyone caught firing a shot into the air will be arrested.
“Sadly, it often has tragic results when innocent people are hit by stray bullets and injured or killed,” the department said in the release.
“The reality is any bullet discharged from a gun, even into the sky, must land somewhere, and when it does, the risk of injury or death is significant.”
Officers will also be out and about around the West Valley city on New Year’s Eve to maintain the peace and arrest drivers who get behind the wheel while intoxicated.