Dozens of cases are going unsovled in those neighbrohoods because police say people won't give them the information they need, but cities across the country are starting to use a new technology -- the Shotspotter. It's a device that can actually help police track gunfire in seconds -- and record forensic information to help them with their cases.

A sniper case in Columbus, Ohio put Shotspotter on the map in November 2004. The FBI and the Franklin County Sheriff's department were on the hunt for any tool to help them track the killer.

"Different types of sound have different types of frequencies. Gunshots have a very specific frequency," said FBI Special Agent Harry Trombitis, who worked on the sniper case.

During the investigation, an FBI agent suggested they take a hard look at Shotspotter -- a technology using microphone sensors linked to a computer system that can pinpoint gunfire and notify the police.

"It will triangulate the sound and actually give you an address of where that shot was fired from," said Trombitis.

Shotspotter didn't solve the sniper case, but it helped investigators put Charles McCoy, Junior in jail.

Soon after, other agencies started to pick up on it. Now it's being used in some of the toughest neighborhoods in the U.S.

"It's another tool that law enforcement can use," said Trombitis.

Shotspotter sensors are smart enough to know the difference between a firecracker, a car backfriirng, or a gunshot. The technology can give police an exact location of where that shot was fired faster than if someone would pick up the phone and call 911.

NEWS9 went to Steubenville Police Chief Bill McCafferty to ask whether he thought that technology would be helpful in fighting the gunfire problems in the hilltops.

"It's very nice that that technology is out there, but unless you're a bigger city -- smaller cities can't afford that," said McCafferty.

McCafferty checked the numbers. It would cost the city upwards of $90,000 to hook up Shotspotter to just one of the surveillance cameras they already use.

Would he like to use it? Absolutely. But he said there's no way without major federal help.

"If they're going to give me the money, I'm sure the city would use it, but I just got reports today that they're cutting funding on everything as far as law enforcement. So I don't have any hopes," said McCafferty.