Policy Text
Page 1 of 5 2/19 (NEW 2/18)
GENERAL ORDER
ShotSpotter Flex
The purpose of this order is to e stablish guidelines for the us e of the ShotSpotter
Gunfire, Alert and Analysis Se rvice (ShotSpotter Flex).
I. Policy Statement
It shall be the policy of the Sacr amento Sheriff’s Department t o properly utilize
ShotSpotter Flex to enhance the Department’s ability to respond to and investigate
violent crimes involving illegal gunfire. II. General
A. ShotSpotter Flex uses audio s ensors placed in selected areas to identify
the location of gunfire.
ShotSpotter Flex recognizes and records gunfire within a partic ular
geographical area and relays that information immediately to th e
Sacramento County Sheriff’s Depar tment Communications Center as well
as all active field-based systems MDT’s (Mobile Data Terminal). Available
officers in close proximity to the location, or within the dist rict, will
immediately respond to the ident ified location. Based on the in formation
from ShotSpotter Flex, a call wil l be entered into the Computer Aided
Dispatch (CAD) System.
ShotSpotter Flex provides an a ccessible audio recording of the incident to
the MDT (patrol vehicle) and Inve stigative Portal (investigator ’s desktop).
ShotSpotter Flex is responsib le for the storage of all audio re cording and
related information and will reta in the information for a perio d of 7 years.
The area Captain will designate a Project Supervisor to oversee the
installation and data collection o f the ShotSpotter Flex progra m.
Information generated by the Shot Spotter Flex system will be tr acked by
the Project Supervisor for that area.
ShotSpotter Flex incident repor ts and audio recordings shall no t be
released to the public, media, or other outside ent ity without the
authorization of the Sheri ff or his/her designee.
Page 2 of 5 2/19 (NEW 2/18) Sheriff’s Department personnel s hall not provide to the public or media the
location or description of the ShotSpotter sensors.
ShotSpotter Flex is a valuable tool that can be used to assist with the
apprehension of suspects during the commission of a firearms ev ent, and
improve response time resulting in:
1. Increased likelihood of locat ing suspects still on-scene or nearby.
2. Increased likelihood of locat ing witnesses still on-scene or nearby.
3. Location and pres ervation of evidence.
4. Shortened response time of medical services.
III. Communications Center Responsibilities
A. ShotSpotter incidents shall be dispatched pursuant to Operat ions Order
5/03 (Dispatching Fi eld Resources).
B. The dispatcher entering the incident shall use the type code SHOTS,
which shall classify the SHOTSP OTTER incident as a Priority 2 c all for
service.
C. The dispatcher entering the ca ll for service shall include a detailed location
of the incident and the informati on captured by ShotSpotter Fle x, which
may include:
1. A single shooter fi ring a single round.
2. A single shooter fi ring multiple rounds.
3. The possibility of m ultiple shooters.
4. The possibility of mobile shoot er(s) along with the shooter’ s speed
and direction of travel.
D. Dispatchers receiving additi onal calls from citizens reporti ng sounds of
shots fired shall not supplemen t the original ShotSpotter incid ent unless
there is specific information wh ich leads the dispatcher to bel ieve the calls
are related, which may include:
1. A confirmed location. 2. Close proximity to the ShotSpotter Flex Alert.
3. A confirmed shooting victim(s). 4. A description of any involved subject(s).
5. A description of any involved vehicle(s).
Page 3 of 5 2/19 (NEW 2/18) 6. Information about a discarded weapon.
E. The radio dispatcher shall ens ure any units who self-dispatc h are
assigned to the original ShotSpotter incident.
F. The radio dispatcher shall re main attentive to possible rela ted calls for
service in the vicinity of the ShotSpotter incident and notify responding
units of the related calls.
G. Pertinent information provided by citizens shall be relayed to responding
units.
H. Duplicate calls shall be added to the original ShotSpotter i ncident.
I. Upon confirmation of an actual shooting the radio dispatcher shall
coordinate the response of additi onal units and medical aid if needed.
J. In the event a confirmed gunf ire incident has occurred withi n the coverage
area (outdoors), witho ut the detection by ShotSpotter, the
Communications Supervisor will c ontact ShotSpotter and request if any
audio of the incident may hav e been captured. The request shoul d be
made as soon as practical. If the request is made after 72 hour s the audio
data cannot be recovered.
IV. Officer Responsibilities
A. When a ShotSpotter alert is received, available patrol units in close
proximity, or the same Distric t as the incident, shall respond to the location
and advise dispatch over the radio they are en route.
B. Responding officers shall trea t the incident as a crime in p rogress and
take a safe and strategi c approach to the incident.
1. All ShotSpotter alerts require a minimum of two officers to respond.
2. Responding officers arriving on scene shall wear body armor and
util