new gunshot sensing technology?

[NuBer92]

what is this i hear about gunfire sensing technology?? well here is the article
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090321/ap_ ... er_sensors" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

i hate COMMIE-fornia

[AEA]

The system with the cameras included may be the better system if it can actually provide video in seconds of the gunfire.

But, in areas where this would be most needed, the BG's would only shoot (or otherwise disable) the cameras and system components on the pole first!

I can see this leading to more sophisticated Gang Member's selection and induction.
They have "actors", "helpers", "spotters", "runners", "drivers",........etc........

Now they will recruit and train "technicians" who will continually disable any systems like this.

Trained, licensed and well armed GG's in the neighborhoods with a "License to Kill" would be more effective in my opinion.

Did someone say Militia?

[shootthesheet]

What good are sensors going to do? Even if they are not destroyed the police won't respond to them quick enough to catch anyone. All that will happen are the police will look around for injured or dead people in the general area of the shooting?

This is just another very expensive to run and maintain plan the cowardly local governments have adopted to make their voting block think government is doing something. If they weren't either corrupt or cowards or both they would go after the criminals and stop wasting money on tech gadgets that will do noting to stop crime. If it is used in conjunction with a number of dedicated officers that are held in reserve to respond immediately then I can see a point to it. Short of that it is all just a "feel-good" waste of money. I don't blame the LEOs for this but I do blame the self-serving politicians. If more people did just that, we wouldn't have an issue with needing to know where gun shots are being heard.

[Captain Matt]

But, in areas where this would be most needed, the BG's would only shoot (or otherwise disable) the cameras and system components on the pole first!

They could also use it to draw police to one neighborhood so they have free reign in another. Can this gizmo distinguish fireworks from a firefight?

[Captain Matt]

Yes, the one I saw does; it listens for a specific signature first - the sonic boom of the bullet.

That's another point in favor of 45 ACP!

[CHL/LEO]

The system with the cameras included may be the better system if it can actually provide video in seconds of the gunfire.

It can but it's a lot more costly (both in terms of installation and monitoring) than just using audio only. We are in the process of implementing a gun shot detection system so I'm very familiar with the various vendors and their equipment. I've been able to evaluate numerous systems around the country and some are good and some are not so good. The ShotSpotter system is very good, even without the cameras. I was working the ShotSpotter dispatch console in a Midwestern city a few months ago when it alerted to a gunshot. It was in a residential neighborhood and even without cameras I was able to direct the responding officers to the exact spot in the front yard where the gun shot was detected. ShotSpotter integrates with Google Maps and by using the Satellite mode I could pull up the exact photo of the house, and the ShotSpotter system then overlayed a dot on the map as to where their system plotted the gunshot. Guess what - shell casings were discovered right where it said they should be. And that's after the homeowner said no one was shooting a gun in his yard.

All that will happen are the police will look around for injured or dead people in the general area of the shooting?

There are numerous cases of gunshot victims being found still alive by officers utilizing these type systems. They would have died if not for them as no one had called in to report shot's fired. If you were the injured person you would probably be glad that they had the system...

I don't blame the LEOs for this but I do blame the self-serving politicians.

In almost every city we visited these systems are politically driven - the same as in ours. No LEO we found would ever recommend the huge amount of money that it would cost to implement this system fully throughout their jurisdiction. In our city it would be hundreds of millions of dollars to do just that, and that's not counting the on-going annual costs.

But, in areas where this would be most needed, the BG's would only shoot (or otherwise disable) the cameras and system components on the pole first!

There is no evidence of this ever happening even in cities that have deployed it for many years in very bad neighborhoods.

Can this gizmo distinguish fireworks from a firefight?

Sometimes but you have to train it to do so. The main thing is that you have the opportunity to immediately listen to a replay of what the system detected. A trained individual can most often tell the difference between gunshots and fireworks. I had the opportunity to do so in different cities and in every instance I could tell the difference fairly quickly. I predict that most every one of you could do the same too. That being said, on the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve, most every city we visited disables their system during the peak "fireworks" hours because the systems tend to get overloaded.

The bottom line - they work but they are very expensive.

[Purplehood]

Big Brother is watching you.