VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Since coming to the Virginia Beach Police Department two years ago, one of Chief Paul Neudigate's top priorities has been tackling gun violence, especially through technology.
“It hits us all. This is our home,” Neudigate said. “I think, in this era of diminished staffing, we're all looking to rely on technology as that force multiplier.”
Neudigate is talking about ShotSpotter, which uses acoustic sensors to pick up sounds related to gunshots, pinpointing officers where triggers are pulled.
“You have a 4 to 5-minute process that we've reduced to 45 seconds to expedite that priority response to gunfire and gun violence in our communities,” Neudigate told News 3.
VBPD installed this technology back in July 2021, with devices set up in the Oceanfront and Western Bayside neighborhoods.
READ: Virginia Beach Police deploy technology to pinpoint location of gunshots in Oceanfront area
Since being brought in, VBPD officials tell News 3 officers have recovered more than 500 shell casings and 27 firearms.
Also, VBPD said the technology has detected 441 occurrences of gunfire. Of those occurrences, only 25 percent had a corresponding 911 call.
“Unfortunately, sometimes, some of our more challenged communities become conditioned to that random gunfire,” Neudigate said.
“They're scared to call it in. They're worried about repercussions,” Neudigate added, explaining reasons for a shortage of 911 calls linked to gunfire incidents. “What the technology does is sometimes it takes away the fear piece.”
Along with rapid response and officer safety, Neudigate said ShotSpotter also helps make sure areas are not "over policed."
“We're responding to specific, objective data, and not just driving through a community and flooding with police because we have perceived problems,” he said. “Now, we know exactly when it's occurring, and we can deploy officers as needed.”
He also told News 3 it separates perception from reality.
“When I first got to Virginia Beach, one of the things that I heard, and I was told, was there was numerous conversations about the idea that there was a continual amount of gunfire at the Oceanfront. We embedded the technology down there, and then come to find out that's not exactly accurate,” Neudigate said. “At one time, we were only receiving an activation within that resort area on average every 16 days, and not the daily amount of gunfire that folks thought was occurring.”
News 3 also got to look at ShotSpotter data in real-time, indicating rounds detected within a 7-day period. One example News 3 saw was 20 rounds ShotSpotter found in a single detection in the western part of Virginia Beach.
“We had a house that was shot up, and a confirmed shooting incident that we're investigating. Very troubling when you have 20 rounds of gunfire,” Neudigate said.
Virginia Beach Police is just the second agency in the Commonwealth of Virginia to install ShotSpotter, after the Newport News Police Department introduced it in 2019.
“The reason that we went to it, in this city, was for our community,” NNPD Chief Steve Drew told News 3 in October 2021.
Last year, Drew talked about ShotSpotter’s impact in Newport News since it was installed.
READ: Local ShotSpotter success: How sensors pick up gunshots, pinpoint where triggers are pulled
In our previous report, News 3 obtained data from NNPD showing, from July 2019-Sept. 30, 2021, there were 390 offenses associated with ShotSpotter alerts.
Since then, News 3 has obtained new data showing, from October 1, 2021-Sept. 30, 2022, the department has recorded 843 ShotSpotter incidents and 123 correlating 911 calls.
Since its installment three years ago, NNPD has recovered more than 3,298 casings and 77 firearms.
Drew told News 3 ShotSpotter has been very valuable to his department.
“Sometimes, people don't call, and that concerns me that, if you're so used to the gunfire and you don't even call, we may not know anything about it until after,” Drew told News 3. “If they don't call, or maybe police don't show up, that's concerning to me.”
Meanwhile, Neudigate and his officers are seeing results.
As they look to expand ShotSpotter around the Green Run and Twin Canal areas of Virginia Beach, Neudigate said they have about a 20 percent drop in the number of shooting victims year to date compared with last year.
“I think there is a deterrence out there that, if you fire shots in Virginia Beach, in certain locations, that you're going to see an expedited police response, and there's a good chance that you're going to be held accountable,” Neudigate said.
