Cracking down on New Year's Eve gunfire

Milwaukee-- Milwaukee Police are using new technology to stop the tradition of people firing off their guns to ring in the New Year.

\"It's okay to celebrate but it's not okay to celebrate with a firearm,\" said Lt. Chris Blaszak.

The gunshot detection system called ShotSpotter identified 80 cases of shots fired in Milwaukee last New Year's Eve.  Acoustic sensors placed in high crime neighborhood pinpoint where the shots are fired, allowing police to arrive on scene with in minutes.

Blaszak says, \"So what we're trying to tell people is, if you fire a gun off illegally in the City of Milwaukee, we're going to use technology to find your location, and we're going to use technology to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.\"



While ShotSpotter is a valuable crime fighting tool, police say it's no substitute for people calling 9-1-1 when they hear gunfire.  They also rely on people to encourage other to keep their guns locked up on New Year's Eve.

\"Just like we've asked people in the past, if a friend of yours has had too much to drink at a part,y don't drink and drive.  Somebody be responsible at the party and say hey man it's not okay to fire a gun off because somebody could get hurt, those bullets got to land somewhere,\" said Blaszak.