Police Magazine Logo
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

New Jersey City's Voters Approve Gunfire Detection System ShotSpotter

The unofficial vote showed 1,566, or more than 70 percent, of residents voted yes on a ballot question for the city to spend $195,000 per year for the next three years to purchase the ShotSpotter system.

November 12, 2018
2 min to read


Pleasantville, NJ, Police Chief Sean Riggin said he was already talking about how to implement a $195,000-per-year gunshot-audio detection system an hour after the polls closed Tuesday night.

“We have a ton of friends in the community, which is why we got the support we did,” Riggin said Wednesday, reports the Press of Atlantic City.

Ad Loading...

The unofficial vote showed 1,566, or more than 70 percent, of residents voted yes on a ballot question for the city to spend $195,000 per year for the next three years to purchase the ShotSpotter system, according to the Atlantic County Clerk’s Office website.

For homeowners, that means an increase of about 2.5 cents on the municipal property-tax rate. Residents with a home assessed at $100,000 would pay about $25 more per year.

In 2016, city police received 109 shots-fired calls, Riggin said, and the number has continued to decrease, with 80 in 2017 and 38 so far this year. However, the number of recorded gunshots fired in the city is likely to increase with the system in place, he said, because ShotSpotter will report all of them, even ones residents don’t call in to police.

City Council approved the ballot question in July after years of not being picked for federal or other grants to fund it. It will be the eighth municipality in the state with the technology, joining neighboring Atlantic City, which went live with its system in 2013. Pleasantville is the first municipality in the country to put the technology before a referendum, Mayor Jesse Tweedle Sr. said.

"It gives you an idea of what our vision is, how proactive we are, how creative we are," he said. "I'm very proud of our police department, and I'm very proud of the residents of Pleasantville. It's indicative of how we work with our residents and the way we work with the community."

More Technology

Promotional graphic for the 2026 Vision FirstNet Users Summit, Sept. 14–16, featuring a session on grassroots advocacy for public safety leadership. Registration is open, shown over a city and mountain landscape.
TechnologyAugust 20, 2026

2026 Vision FirstNet Users Summit to Host Emerging Leaders Training on Grassroots Advocacy for Public Safety

“Emerging Leaders Training: Understanding the Importance of Grassroots Advocacy for Public Safety," a session during the 2026 Vision FirstNet Users Summit, will offer a roadmap for unified advocacy at the federal level.

Read More →
A technician wearing sunglasses holds a tablet beside tripod-mounted electronic detection equipment on a rooftop, with office buildings visible in the background.
TechnologyAugust 20, 2026

Motorola Solutions Completes Acquisition of D-Fend Solutions

Motorola Solutions has acquired D-Fend Solutions, an industry leader in counter-drone technology. This deal provides public safety and enterprise customers with access to advanced counter-unmanned aerial systems.

Read More →
ZeroEyes graphic featuring Camden, Delaware Police and Caesar Rodney School District emblems over a blue-tinted classroom background, with the ZeroEyes logo displayed across the bottom.
TechnologyAugust 13, 2026

ZeroEyes, Advantech & Camden Police Partner to Bring AI Gun Detection Technology to Delaware School District

ZeroEyes has partnered with Advantech and the Camden Police Department to deploy ZeroEyes’ AI gun detection and intelligent situational awareness platform at Delaware’s Caesar Rodney School District (CRSD).

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Roadside traffic monitoring equipment mounted on a utility pole overlooks a passing car, illustrating wireless vehicle detection technology used for traffic management, signal optimization, or roadway data collection.
TechnologyAugust 6, 2026

Leonardo U.S. Cyber & Security Solutions Introduces SignalTrace, the Next Evolution in Electronic Signature Detection Technology

SignalTrace reflects years of product refinement and a clearer expression of the technology’s purpose of recognizing and correlating electronic signatures in publicly broadcast wireless signals to reveal patterns, relationships, and trends that might otherwise go undetected.

Read More →
Overhead view of a crowded public space with AI-generated boxes obscuring faces, illustrating automated facial anonymization and privacy protection in video surveillance. Pimloc logo appears in the lower-right corner.
TechnologyJuly 24, 2026

Pimloc Launches Secure File Sharing to Streamline Release of Redacted Video

Pimloc’s Secure File Sharing lets organizations deliver redacted video, audio, and documents through expiring, passcode-protected links, accelerating delivery while reducing security, compliance, and chain-of-custody risks.

Read More →
Promotional graphic for the 2026 Vision FirstNet Users Summit, Sept. 14–16, 2026, featuring a Las Vegas skyline and highlighting the session, “Bridging Broadband and LMR: FirstNet Fusion and the Rise of Hybrid Devices,” with registration open.
TechnologyJuly 16, 2026

2026 Vision FirstNet Users Summit to Explore How FirstNet Fusion and LMR Are Redefining Mission-Critical Communications

One of the sessions at the 2026 Vision FirstNet Users Summit will highlight hybrid devices bridging broadband and LMR. “Bridging Broadband and LMR: FirstNet Fusion and the Rise of Hybrid Devices” will explore how public safety agencies can modernize their communications environments while maintaining the reliability of land mobile radio.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Cellebrite and SkySafe logos appear over a city skyline at sunset with a drone in flight, illustrating a partnership focused on drone detection, investigation, and public safety technology.
TechnologyJuly 9, 2026

Cellebrite Expands Exclusive SkySafe Partnership to Deliver Immediate Drone Detection and Airspace Intelligence for Digital Investigations at Scale

By integrating SkySafe's drone detection and airspace intelligence with Cellebrite's platform, agencies can connect real-time and historical UAV flight data with mobile forensic evidence, all in one place.

Read More →
DroneShield report cover featuring a commercial airliner in flight against a dramatic sky. The publication, Airspace Under Pressure, focuses on counter-UAS readiness for airports and critical infrastructure.
TechnologyJuly 9, 2026

New DroneShield Report Reveals Serious Gaps in Airport, Critical Infrastructure Counter-Drone Security

Survey results, as part of “Airspace Under Pressure: A Global Assessment of Counter-UAS Readiness Across Airports and Critical Infrastructure,” indicate that 60% of organizations say they lack legal authority to act against unauthorized drones.

Read More →
Screenshot of Veritone Redact software automatically detecting and obscuring a driver's face in dashcam video. Headline reads, “Accelerating Public Records Fulfillment,” highlighting AI-powered video redaction for public safety agencies.
TechnologyJuly 2, 2026

CHP to Accelerate Evidence Redaction & Public Records Fulfillment Through Veritone Redact

With Veritone Redact, the California Highway Patrol can redact video, audio, and image-based evidence, reducing time spent on evidence preparation and public record requests.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Collage showing rooftop surveillance and radar equipment installed on commercial buildings. One image features a close-up of mounted sensors and antennas; the other shows multiple monitoring systems across a rooftop. Echodyne logo displayed prominently below.
TechnologyJune 18, 2026

Echodyne Expands Public Safety Radar Applications Through Partnership with Axon

Echodyne has partnered with Axon to support safer and more scalable drone operations across law enforcement, homeland security, and Drone as First Responder programs globally.

Read More →