10AM Pacific / 1PM Eastern
When agencies deploy new public safety technologies, success is often determined less by the technology itself than by how effectively it is adopted across the organization.
When Lancaster, South Carolina deployed ShotSpotter®, the impact was immediate. Within hours of deployment, officers were responding to incidents that may never have generated a 911 call, recovering evidence from locations that might otherwise have gone undiscovered, and gaining a more complete understanding of gunfire activity in the community.
In this peer-driven webinar, Captain Nelson Bowling of the Lancaster Police Department will discuss how his agency moved quickly from deployment to operational success by treating ShotSpotter not simply as an alerting tool, but as a new way to respond to, investigate, and understand gunfire in the community. Drawing on real examples from Lancaster's first months using the technology, he will share how the department uses precise alert locations, evidence recovery protocols, forensic reporting, historical gunfire intelligence, and investigative workflows to support patrol response, strengthen cases, address nuisance properties, and improve accountability to both city leaders and the community.
The discussion will also explore the role training, command buy-in, and organizational commitment play in realizing the full value of gunshot detection technology. From reinforcing the importance of every alert to developing consistent response and documentation practices, Lancaster's experience demonstrates how technology delivers the greatest value when it is supported by clear expectations, repeatable workflows, and a culture of accountability.
By the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to:
- Understand how Lancaster PD built command buy-in, officer adoption, and response protocols around ShotSpotter
- Identify how training and full-platform use can help agencies move beyond alerts to evidence recovery, investigations, and case support
- Recognize how gunfire intelligence, forensic reporting, and investigative workflows can support search warrants, prosecutions, and nuisance-property enforcement
- Apply practical lessons for strengthening gunfire response, community accountability, and public safety outcomes in their own agencies
Expert Speakers
Nelson Bowling, Captain, Lancaster (SC) Police Department
Captain Nelson Bowling serves as Captain and Support Services Division Commander for the Lancaster Police Department in Lancaster, South Carolina. In this role, he helps oversee key operational functions including communications, training and safety, records, school resource officers, victim services, and community policing. Captain Bowling has played a leading role in Lancaster’s ShotSpotter deployment, helping the agency build the training, response practices, and investigative workflows needed to turn gunfire alerts into actionable public safety outcomes.
Josh Judah, Customer Success Director, SoundThinking
Josh Judah was a Louisville police officer for 21 years, joining the former Louisville Division of Police in 2001. Josh served in nearly every rank of LMPD, before retiring as Assistant Chief/Lieutenant Colonel in 2022. As Assistant Chief of LMPD’s Patrol Bureau, Josh supervised all patrol operations across Metro Louisville with approximately 700 personnel under his command. His last duty was commander of the Administrative Bureau, overseeing human resources, technical services, recruitment, fleet, records, the LMPD Service Center, and the department’s $180 million dollar budget. A longtime supporter of ShotSpotter, he is now a Customer Success Director with SoundThinking.