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City picks gunshot detection system

stevewonderful

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"Newark has selected the California company Shotspotter for a gunshot detection system to improve police response time by pinpointing the location of gunfire.
Originally developed for the United States military, the wireless gunshot sensors will be used in Newark along with police surveillance cameras already in place.
"We are pleased that we are able to add yet another tool to our arsenal," Newark Police Director Garry McCarthy said yesterday. "Through our continued use of in novative policing tactics coupled with state of the art technology like mobile data computers, wireless cameras, and now gunshot detection systems, we will continue to drive out violent crime," he said.
The contract for the $1.2 million system will be paid for by the Newark Community Foundation, a nonprofit group that collects donations and distributes grants.
The city was also weighing bids from two other companies, Safety Dynamics and Planning Systems Inc., but selected the Mountain View, Calif.-based Shotspotter be cause of its proven track record, officials said. Newark officials visited several cities using various gunshot detection systems, including Tijuana, Mexico.
"If you take a look at their national work, they're clearly the market leader," said Hans Dekker, director of the Community Foundation of New Jersey, which manages the Newark Community Foundation.
Gunshot detectors will be mounted on structures over a 7-square-mile area. When triggered, Shotspotter sensors will provide police with the location, number of shooters, and number of shots fired.
"City leaders must continually (be) innovative and implement new solutions to combat the epidemic of gun violence," said Shot spotter President and CEO James Beldock.
Shotspotter's Gunshot Location System has also been installed in 27 cities around the country, including Washington, D.C., and East Orange. Newark's neighboring municipality first introduced gunshot detectors made by Planning Systems Inc. in 2005, and deployed a Shotspotter system in 2006, according to Detective Andrew DiElmo of the East Orange Police Department. Both systems are in operation in East Orange.
Gunshot detectors are viewed as a "useful tool" for investigative purposes, and the East Orange police also considers it a crime deterrent, DiElmo said. However, there have been issues about gunshots that go undetected by sen sors.
"Does it work 100 percent of the time? No," said DiElmo. "We have had incidents where the sensors haven't alerted us."
And lots more where kids set off firecrackers, run like hell, then watch the arriving patrol cars drive in circles looking for guns. Smart crooks use them as well, setting off cherry bombs in the areas directly opposite of where they'll be committing a crime.
Good thing that Newark as well as other cities employing these gunshot detectors have so many extra cops sitting around doing nothing that they can afford to have what are in essence loud noise police. Not that any such detection device is going to prevent a crime, mind you, as logic dictates that if the sound can be heard...now pay close attention members of LE...the gunshot or something similar has ALREADY HAPPENED.
:what:

Did I mention that backfiring cars are driving these sensors nuts :lol:

http://shootingmessengers.blogspot.com/
 

Pointman

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Americans used to rely on citizens with rotary phones to report shootings; too bad rotary phones aren't still in existence.

Of course, Americans used to rely on citizens with guns to deter crime; too bad armed citizens aren't still in existence.
 

deepdiver

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It obviously works very well if DC has them, you know, since DC is such a low crime area.

And where are they going to mount these sensors? Are they going to use emminent domain to force private property owners to let them use their structure?
 

Evolution

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They just installed these in a small portion of York, PA for trial. They tend to put them up in high crime areas and hang them from public property such as Traffic lights and so fourth. They can detect a gunshot from a pretty good distance.
 

massltca

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Sounds like a waste of the taxpayers' money to me. Like another poster saidthese sensors are going to alert police to crimes that have already happened or firecrackers and cars backfiring. I highly doubt it will prevent or deter crime on any meaningful level.
 

Doug Huffman

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massltca wrote:
Sounds like a waste of the taxpayers' money to me. Like another poster saidthese sensors are going to alert police to crimes that have already happened or firecrackers and cars backfiring. I highly doubt it will prevent or deter crime on any meaningful level.

Yes to 'crimes that have already occurred.

Audio differentiation of gunfire from firecrackers or backfire is so trivial that we do it without special analytic equipment. At a guess the rise time of the pressure pulse is too long.

The pole mounted detectors are good enough that they can localize the sound quite accurately - after the fact.
 

Toymaker

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This means that the police will be able to arrive on the scene faster to put up the yellow tape.

Guess what priority your burglary in progress call get's bumped down to:p. The police will be rushing to pick up the shell casingsfromthe location where some gang banger simply fired his weapon into the air.
 

squarepeg

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Hey everybody, this stuff works!!! I mean Gary, IN has the ShotSpotter and I think they lost the title of murder capital per capita for one year or so. I am actually a little curious how sensitive these are. Say someone is getting a new roof put on a hundred feet from where the sensor is mounted and there are 3 guys slamming "high powered" air nailers.

Dispatch: "We have three shooters... armed with automatic air guns, rapidly installing the Smith's new roof. Approach with caution... Suspects are wearing ear protection and may not hear you."
 

imperialism2024

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I wonder if this could differentiate between live gunshots and recordings of gunshots. If not, I think we could have some fun with that. Set up a bunch of speakers in different locations... "1500 shooters! All firing .50 cal machine guns!" :cool:
 

Doug Huffman

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When I wrote "we do it without special equipment," I meant we humans. If you can tell the difference between a backfire and gunfire or the difference between shotgun and rifle then I assure you that a computer can. A nail-gun shot is full of mechanical clicks and clatters that even I, with engineroom damaged ears, can hear.
 

LEO 229

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I am not sure how often vehicle backfire any more. Many states have vehicle inspections and what hot so the day and tons of vehicles doing it are not that great.

People also accidentally call 9-1-1 and the police are still sent to check and be sure all is OK.

So if a vehicle did backfire... all it means is that a few officers can head that way and look around. Not much else to really do. The be benefit in either case is that officers can start for that known triangulation and while they are on the way citizens may call in to confirm the gun shots.

As we all know.... gun shots are easy to identify but the location of the shot is not. So the triangulation system helps tell the police the best location to start looking.

It can be viewed as a waste of money but it is obviously needed to help guide the police to the best area to catch the shooter. Not having it means they just go where ever the citizen THINKS he heard it.

No need to force a citizen to allow it to be installed on their property... not sure what this was even brought up. they are small units that can be affixed to light and telephone poles.
 

LEO 229

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ODA 226 wrote:
This has been tried in Baghdad. What a waste of money...
Um... Baghdad is a war zone and people are shooting 24 hours a day.

I would agree it is a waste of money... there.
 

squarepeg

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LEO 229 wrote:
No need to force a citizen to allow it to be installed on their property... not sure what this was even brought up. they are small units that can be affixed to light and telephone poles.
Not sure if this was directed about my post about roofing and air nailers, but if it was, my thought was that light posts are often in the parkway only a few dozen feet from a house.
 

LEO 229

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squarepeg wrote:
LEO 229 wrote:
No need to force a citizen to allow it to be installed on their property... not sure what this was even brought up. they are small units that can be affixed to light and telephone poles.
Not sure if this was directed about my post about roofing and air nailers, but if it was, my thought was that light posts are often in the parkway only a few dozen feet from a house.
Do not know of that many homes that are located on a parkway. Sounds like some homes are too close to a parkway and are probably more worried about road noise than lights at night.
 

deepdiver

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LEO 229 wrote:
No need to force a citizen to allow it to be installed on their property... not sure what this was even brought up. they are small units that can be affixed to light and telephone poles.
It was a question I asked. An interrogatory. The give away that it was a question was the "?" at the end of it. :) Being that I don't know how large the units are, how many are to be installed or what type of locations they require for installation and given the emminent domain issues we have had in the nation in the last several years, I thought it a reasonable question to ask in an effort to fully understand the scope of this issue. And see, you have answered the question. If you had answered it without the "not sure what [sic] this was even brought up" I would have just said thank you for the answer. :)
 
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