by Kiersten Throndsen/KOMO (RVP news partner)

Mayor McGinn says he is committed to making public safety his number one priority and he says his proposed budget for next year is proof.

Under his proposal, the city would hire an additional 10 police officers at a cost of $1 million a year. He also has allocated $950,000, over two years, to purchase a gunshot locator system which can be used to determine where gunshots occur and what kind of weapon was fired.

In a statement released to the media, Mayor McGinn said:

“These units can determine if a gunshot has occurred within 4/10ths of a second, pinpoint the location to within a 50-foot radius and determine the caliber of weapon that was fired with a 90 percent accuracy rate.”

His proposed budget also makes money available to improve and upgrade Seattle Police Department’s in-car video program, replaces aging mobile data terminals and increases the department’s ability to analyze crime data.

McGinn will share more about his budget and specifics pertaining to public safety later this month.