ShotSpotter: In many places in the US, gunshots are monitored and triangulated automatically

posted by gene on Wed, 2010-09-08 17:14

I've stumbled upon a technology deployed by law enforcement agencies that I was not at all aware of; THE SHOTSPOTTER

the shotspotter interface for minneapolis

ShotSpotter GLS solutions use acoustic sensors deployed over areas from one square mile up to hundreds of linear miles to locate gunfire and other violent threats within seconds. When an impulsive sound is detected within a ShotSpotter GLS coverage area, the system springs into action; accurately locating the incident (within 25 meters) and classifying the impulsive sound as a violent threat or an everyday sound (e.g. car backfire or firecracker). Detailed alert information, including actual audio recording clips, is quickly relayed to dispatch communications centers, command stations, and field-based vehicles. Alert information is geo-referenced and visually displayed by the ShotSpotter PSC user interface.

That's, strange. It's also more widespread then I would have guessed. It's all over Chicago (where I live now) and Boston (where I grew up). At the end of this post is a list of the locations which use ShotSpotter.

I don't really have anything negative I can say about this. I mean, clearly being able to pinpoint gunshots as they happen in real time is probably a good thing.

But, it still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I'm not sure why. Something about it rubs me the wrong way. It's not rational, but there it is. Maybe it is because I feel like I am living in a society that is aspiring for total control of it's population. Maybe I feel like I should be able to fire a gun without an immediate police response.

Maybe it just feels to me that this type of control is less about protecting us, and more about controlling us.

These are just maybes, though.

I'll end with this: I learned about the Shotpotter while reading this article, about a man defending his home by firing an AK47 into the ground to ward off criminals. He was promptly arrested, when cops arrived on the scene. After being alerted and dispatched by the ShotSpotter.

Maybe this is the problem I have. Police as a fully automated mechanism in our lives. Probably a good thing when responding to gun shots, especially if it means saving lives. But still, there is something creepy about it anyway.

List of locations in the US which have deployed Shot Stopper:

Baltimore, MD/Johns Hopkins University (2009)
Baton Rouge, LA (2007)
Bell Gardens, CA (2009)
Bellwood, IL (2007)
Beloit, WI (2008)
Birmingham, AL (2007)
Boston, MA (2007)
Brockton, MA (2009)
Camden, NJ (2010)
Charleston, SC (2003)
Chicago, IL (2007)
Dallas, TX (2009)
East Orange, NJ (2006)
East Palo Alto, CA (2007)
FBI (two systems) (2007)
Gary, IN (2005, four expansions)
Glendale, AZ (2002)
Harrisburg, PA (2009)
Irvington, NJ (2008)
Jefferson Parish, LA (2010)
Los Angeles County, CA
(2007, two systems, two expansions)
Milwaukee, WI (2010)
Minneapolis, MN (2006)
Montgomery, AL (2009)
Mount Vernon, NY (2009)
Nassau County, NY (2008)
New Haven, CT (2008)
Newark, NJ (2008)
NLECTC (2007)
North Charleston, SC (2004)
Oakland, CA (2006)
Paterson, NJ (2007)
Prince George’s County, MD
(2009, one expansion)
Redwood City, CA (1996, one expansion)
Richmond, CA (2009, one expansion)
Riviera Beach, FL (2009)
Rochester, NY (2006)
Saginaw, MI (2008, one expansion)
San Francisco, CA (2007, three expansions)
South Gate, CA (2008)
Springfield, MA (2007)
St. Louis, MO (2008)
Trenton, NJ (2009)
Troy, NY (2008)
Washington D.C. (2006, two expansions)
Yonkers, NY (2009)
York, PA (2007)
Youngstown, OH (2009)