NEWARK, Calif. — ShotSpotter (Nasdaq: SSTI) has expanded its partnership with Verizon Communications (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), with the telecom giant now reselling the company’s flagship gunshot detection solution as a standalone offering.
“We believe adding the leadership, reach and influence of Verizon as a ShotSpotter reseller will be a force multiplier for our business, allowing us to access and serve more cities across the country,” Ralph Clark, president and CEO of ShotSpotter, states in an announcement. “Verizon’s large and experienced sales teams have longstanding relationships with many municipalities, so it’s a natural fit.”
ShotSpotter Flex is said to assist law enforcement agencies by quickly directing police to the location of gunfire incidents. The SaaS-based system sends alerts within 60 seconds of gunshot detection to dispatch centers and to patrol officers on their mobile computers and smartphones.
The alerts improve response times to crime scenes to better aid victims and identify witnesses, as well as help police locate key evidence to identify and prosecute suspects, according to the company.
“We expect the addition of ShotSpotter Flex within our Smart Communities suite of solutions, including public safety and traffic management, will be a clear value-add for cities, and we are excited to include this offering to our customers,” says Mrinalini Ingram, vice president of Smart Communities for Verizon.
In January ShotSpotter announced an agreement with Verizon to bring the company’s solution to cities across the United States by leveraging Verizon’s Light Sensory Network, an IoT platform deployed on street lights. By utilizing a city’s lighting infrastructure, Verizon states it is easier and more cost effective to deploy ShotSpotter gunshot detection capability in key urban locations and cover a much broader area in cities.
With the ubiquity of street lighting in nearly every area in a city, an entire city can benefit from near real-time alerts to gunfire, the telecom says.
