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Dayton police plan gunshot detection, drones, plate readers in 3 neighborhoods
The Dayton Police Department proposes to use controversial gunshot-detection technology, drones and license plate readers to try to reduce crime in several hotspot neighborhoods.
• The neighborhoods: The city cites increasing levels of violent crime in Miami Chapel, North Riverdale and Residence Park areas in the last year.
• The numbers: These three neighborhoods had 89 gun-related crimes last year, including 30 aggravated robberies and 10 killings and cases of “nonnegligent manslaughter.”
• Grant funding: DPD recently was awarded $400,000 in grant funding from the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program.
• New tools and technology: The police department plans to purchase three Flock gunshot detection systems, 27 license plate reader systems and one Flock safety drone to serve as a first responder.
• Fixed-site automated license plate readers: They were deployed across Dayton in early 2023, and there were 72 devices in operation last year. The fixed-site devices are usually on utility and traffic signal posts. Police vehicles also are equipped with the technology, which scans license plates and issues alerts, like when vehicles are reported stolen.
• Gunshot detection systems: The department told this newspaper that gunshot detection sensors will be deployed across a three-square-mile area that has a high concentration of violent gun crimes. It previously used a controversial ShotSpotter gunshot-detection system, but the city decided to not renew the contract when it expired at the end of 2022.
• Drones: The police department currently has 16 drones.
• Pushback: In the recent past, when the police department has worked to try to launch new surveillance tools or expand existing tools, there has been pushback from some community members who believe the technology can be misused or has serious disadvantages or risks to privacy and civil rights.
• Criticism: Critics of the technology say it is unreliable and has not been proven to reduce shootings, violence and other crime. They also say the technology issues alerts that send officers to locations of alleged gunshots without any other information, which potentially can lead to unnecessary and unjustified pat downs, investigatory stops, arrests and other encounters between citizens and police that have the potential to escalate.
• What law enforcement is saying: “Every department is trying to utilize technology to the best of their ability, one for service delivery ... and also as, and we use the term a lot, as a force multiplier,” said Dayton police Major Jason Hall. “We believe it provides for a much higher level of service for our citizens and a lot higher level of safety.”
3 Dayton neighborhoods plagued by violence for quarter century, data shows - ‘We’ve got to stick together’
Four out of five shootings and violent gun crimes with injuries in the city last year occurred in west and northwest Dayton, including in some of the same neighborhoods where gun violence has been concentrated for more than a quarter century.
• Hotspots: A Dayton Police Department analysis of homicides and felonious assaults from 1999 to 2024 found Miami Chapel, Santa Clara and the Summit Square apartment complex have long been hot spots.
• All over the city: Police data suggests that around three-fourths of Dayton neighborhoods had violent gun crimes with injuries last year.
• What they are saying: “If you’ve got some neighbors that are constantly watching and looking around, and everybody knows everybody, more than likely they’re not going to come on that street,” Sharon Mitchell, president of the Residence Park Neighborhood Association said. “We’ve got to stick together — it’s about neighbors helping neighbors.”
• Residents worried: A 2024 citywide survey found that many Dayton residents are worried about firearm violence, and more than half of respondents concerned with gun violence said the issue is being addressed poorly.
• What police are saying: Gun violence is “not just a police issue — it’s a community issue, it’s a municipality issue, and we have to work to understand why does crime occur in a particular neighborhood,” Police Chief Kamran Afzal said.
• Causes of gun violence: Studies show historic housing discrimination, racism, segregation and concentrated disadvantage are associated with gun violence and deaths.
• Poverty rate: Dayton in the recent past has had one of the higher poverty rates in the nation, among mid- to large-sized urban areas. The Gem City’s poverty rate stands at about 27%.
READ MORE: It’s gunshots ‘all the time’ in their Dayton neighborhood