Shotspotter Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Leeds, Maker of Crimecenter™ Investigative Software
NEWARK, Calif., November 9, 2020 -- ShotSpotter, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSTI), the leader in solutions that help law enforcement officials identify, locate and deter gun violence, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Leeds, LLC, doing business as CrimeCenter Software. The acquisition will expand ShotSpotter’s suite of law enforcement solutions with the CrimeCenter line of investigative case management software. Leeds’ primary business is supplying a major metropolitan police department on the East Coast with CrimeCenter and a variety of IT-related professional services. Leeds has more than 30 employees and is based in Newark, New Jersey.
Under the terms of the agreement, ShotSpotter will pay approximately $22 million in cash and stock, which includes a potential earnout of up to $5 million. The deal is expected to close November and is subject to customary closing conditions. Upon closing, Leeds will become a wholly owned subsidiary of ShotSpotter.
With the addition of CrimeCenter to its product lineup of patrol management and gunshot detection solutions, ShotSpotter will offer the only complete precision policing platform to enable intelligence-driven prevention, response to, and investigation of crime for local, state and federal agencies. The newly expanded ShotSpotter platform is expected to increase the company’s total addressable market for law enforcement software in just the U.S. by more than 45 percent.
“CrimeCenter is a perfect fit with our strategy to offer an integrated set of precision policing solutions to help drive down crime,” said Ralph A. Clark, CEO and President of ShotSpotter. “Case management is a proven category, as every agency is required to document and investigate crimes and identify and arrest suspects. The CrimeCenter solution does it in a new and better way. We see it opening up new business opportunities beyond municipal law enforcement, including state and federal agencies.”
CrimeCenter is a SaaS product that helps automate investigative work and improve case clearance rates – addressing an inefficiency problem for many agencies that have had to rely on multiple disparate systems to work cases. Using CrimeCenter, investigators benefit from a single digital case folder that includes all elements related to a case. Analytical and collaboration tools help investigators connect the dots and share information faster while reporting helps package cases for command staff and prosecutors.
“We developed CrimeCenter to meet the highest standards for investigations for all types of crime. It’s been battle-tested by law enforcement using it over the last five years,” said Dan Leston, Managing Partner of Leeds, LLC. “Joining the ShotSpotter team is a thrill for us as we expect it will lead to much broader use of this innovative tool to help close more cases and reduce crime.”
As part of the growing ShotSpotter suite of solutions, the company expects CrimeCenter to benefit from ShotSpotter’s strong customer relationships, sales and marketing resources, and product integration opportunities. ShotSpotter solutions are used by more than 100 cities across the U.S. as of September 30, 2020.
About Leeds / CrimeCenter Software
Leeds, LLC, dba as CrimeCenter Software, is a leading provider of cloud-based investigative software for law enforcement agencies. Built by law enforcement experts, the platform helps agencies modernize every phase of an investigation and accelerate case work with easy-to-use software tools. CrimeCenter is proven to work at scale with thousands of users across multiple crime units. Enhanced analytical and collaboration tools help detectives connect the dots and share information quickly while reporting tools give insight to supervisors on the status of each case. The company is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey.
About ShotSpotter, Inc.
ShotSpotter (NASDAQ: SSTI) provides acoustic gunshot detection and precision-policing solutions to help law enforcement officials and security personnel prevent and reduce gun violence and make communities, campuses and facilities safer. The company’s flagship product, ShotSpotter® Flex™, is the leading gunshot detection, location and forensic system trusted by over 100 cities. ShotSpotter® Connect™ (previously known as ShotSpotter Missions) uses artificial intelligence-driven analysis to dynamically direct patrol resources to areas of greatest risk and helps to improve officer accountability and deter crime. ShotSpotter has been designated a Great Place to Work® Company.
