a shot in the dark
If you hear a loud party and then some gunshots, chances are that the partygoers are just letting off some steam. Gunshots followed by squealing tires would indicate a drive-by shooting. Also, consider what day it is — big holidays are also days for random gunfire. It’s difficult to distinguish the type of gun used in a shooting incident unless you’re an educated gun person, but if the occurrence is close enough, you should at least be able to distinguish between a small-caliber weapon and a large-caliber weapon. The main thing to remember is to call 911 every time you hear gunfire!
gathering intel
When gathering intelligence about gunfire, begin by ascertaining the type of gunfire. Random gunfire is distinguishable from other types of shooting incidents such as urban sniper attacks, gang shootouts, domestic homicides and revenge shootings because 1) it is strictly an outdoor activity; 2) it is not usually part of other criminal activity such as drug dealing, assaults or robberies; and 3) random gunfire shooters do not fire their weapons to intentionally injure or kill people. Although random gunfire shooters believe their actions are harmless, what goes up must come down. Learn to distinguish between random gunfire and other shooting incidents.
gun control
We are law enforcement’s eyes and ears. Police depend on us to gather the necessary intelligence that will bring such low-level lawlessness to an end. Remember, police can’t respond instantaneously. It takes time to dispatch a resident’s call to police. It takes time for police to arrive on the scene. Police usually give random gunfire incidents a low priority, meaning they generally stay on the scene to investigate for a relatively short time, because offenders are highly unlikely to remain at a gunfire location long enough for the police to arrive. But the more residents get involved by alerting police to such incidents, the better our chances of influencing the delivery of police services. The single biggest problem with random gunfire is under-reporting.
bite the bullet
Many people ignore gunshots because they fear retaliation by the lawbreakers or rejection by the police. It’s important that we contact police each and every time random gunfire occurs in Hampton Hills. By encouraging police and prosecutors to more vigorously investigate and prosecute offenders, we will ultimately deter shooters, who fret little about the dangers and even less about the potential of getting busted.
