SST, Inc., a provider acoustic gunfire detection services, announced a new mobile app designed to extend ShotSpotter Flex alerts to a new native browser user-interface and native mobile iOS and Android platforms. With the new mobile app, more law enforcement users will have access to the valuable ShotSpotter service beyond the dispatch office or squad car, with real-time gunfire alerts delivered anytime, anywhere on any iOS or Android mobile phone, tablet or desktop. The new mobile app is designed to provide timely situational awareness information to speed up officer response time and improve safety.
Mobile app now available
The ShotSpotter mobile app—now available for download—makes it very easy for all law enforcement personnel to directly receive instant alerts on their mobile devices. These always on push notifications of gunshot incidents are instantly sent to a user’s mobile device in real-time so that department personnel never miss an alert—no matter where they are or what they are doing. Each ShotSpotter alert provides key information for each incident including: incident time, number of rounds, and the location with a highlighted evidence search area. In addition, officers can play the audio of the gunfire incident in order to have full situational intelligence on the event they are responding to. In order to aid in officer safety while on the beat, the app information is displayed via a low light user interface.
"The ShotSpotter mobile app delivers a world class mobile experience designed |
“The ShotSpotter mobile app delivers a world class mobile experience designed specifically to keep officers safe and informed wherever their job takes them,” said Ralph A. Clark, CEO of SST. “Going mobile provides broader reach and deeper engagement to critical real time gunfire data that law enforcement needs to address violent crime quickly and effectively. Our mobility initiative has been inspired and informed by key user and market feedback.”
South Bend PD touts ease of use
The South Bend Police Department in Indiana is a longstanding user of ShotSpotter and has been beta testing the mobile app for several months. Approximately ten department personnel in varying positions are currently using the mobile app.
“The ShotSpotter mobile app has helped us to be more proactive in responding to gunfire incidents because we get the information we need quickly and can decide the best way to respond,” said Captain Tony Bontrager. “The app is very straightforward and easy to use and lets us know the address and how many shots are fired. We get the information live—anywhere, anytime—without having to exclusively rely on dispatch to call us or take the time to log on to a system.”
"We get the information live - anywhere, anytime - without |
Minimal IT involvement required
The mobile app works exclusively with the ShotSpotter Flex solution and is offered as a free download through the Apple app store and Google Play. The mobile alerts do not require out of browser (OOB) applications to view and access, and are available on iPhones, iPads, Android devices, laptop computers, and desktop computers. The download and set up process is easy for new users and requires minimal IT involvement or overhead for agencies.
Using the Amazon Web Services cloud
To deliver increased scale, high availability, and disaster recovery, the company chose Amazon Web Services (AWS)—a leader in commercial cloud—to host the back end infrastructure for its mobile and browser apps. SST has been able to invest in feature innovation instead of infrastructure management. AWS allows SST to scale servers’ capacity automatically on demand and maintain high performance, all while keeping costs down.
