questionmark Posted November 4, 2013 #1 Share Posted November 4, 2013 When Absalom Jordan hears the crack of gunfire outside his home in Southeast Washington, he reacts in an instant. “You get away from the windows and get down,” the 72-year-old said. “I have learned to live with it.” Police are listening as well. Rooftop sensors monitor his neighborhood around the clock for the distinctive bang of a gun. The inconspicuous devices have logged hundreds of incidents over the past eight years near his apartment as part of a gunfire surveillance network called ShotSpotter. About 39,000 separate incidents of gunfire have been documented by ShotSpotter’s unseen web of at least 300 acoustic sensors across 20 square miles of the city, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. The data, obtained through a public-records request, offer an unprecedented view of gun crime in a city where shooting a firearm is illegal in virtually all circumstances. Read more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OverSword Posted November 4, 2013 #2 Share Posted November 4, 2013 About 39,000 separate incidents of gunfire have been documented by ShotSpotter’s unseen web of at least 300 acoustic sensors across 20 square miles of the city, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. The data, obtained through a public-records request, offer an unprecedented view of gun crime in a city where shooting a firearm is illegal in virtually all circumstances. Just more evidence that strict gun control raises the rate of gun crime. No surprise there. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.United_Nations Posted November 4, 2013 #3 Share Posted November 4, 2013 It does say gun crimes goes down every year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aztek Posted November 4, 2013 #4 Share Posted November 4, 2013 ShotSpotter’s can not detect shots are fired indoors. so 39000 is not the whole story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praetorian-legio XIII Posted November 4, 2013 #5 Share Posted November 4, 2013 So 39K shots fired; and not one of them hit a decent target 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Grey Posted November 4, 2013 #6 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Brace yourselves: gun control advocates are on the way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+and-then Posted November 4, 2013 #7 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Sounds like an interesting system. I wonder how or IF it differentiates between locations of the sound source? IOW could multiple sensors detect a single shot and skew the results? Interesting idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aztek Posted November 4, 2013 #8 Share Posted November 4, 2013 (edited) even if it does, it isn't like every time the sys detects a shot, cops are there right away. it can tell where shot is fired from, it would be usefull if you looking for snipers and monitor it all the time, but in this case it is nothing more than capitan obvious, if cops find body and shell casing, they pretty much know the shooting happened here, and shots were fired from here. and most likely withness accounts will establish time of the shooting before cops will find it out from sys. database. not to mention in pbly 95% cases by the time cops respond, shoter already long gone, or dead. Edited November 4, 2013 by aztek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafterman Posted November 5, 2013 #9 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I'm not so sure I'd rely on those numbers. It's a pretty dodgy system that many municipalities have uninstalled. A town nearby just did it last year. http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Troy-will-turn-off-ShotSpotter-3994808.php Given the cost of the system and the nature of politics, I have to wonder if the glowing reviews such as the one in the OP are simply covering the asses of those who pushed for the system in the first place. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libstaK Posted November 5, 2013 #10 Share Posted November 5, 2013 What about cars back-firing? Can it detect the difference? I would want to know how accurate it's sensor really are, alot of things can "sound like gunfire". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praetorian-legio XIII Posted November 6, 2013 #11 Share Posted November 6, 2013 If the systems calibration isn't right on, imagine what a pack of black cat fire crackers would create. "NEWS FLASH" sensors in DC have detected and identified multiple machine gun bursts. White house goes into lock down. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
questionmark Posted November 6, 2013 Author #12 Share Posted November 6, 2013 What about cars back-firing? Can it detect the difference? I would want to know how accurate it's sensor really are, alot of things can "sound like gunfire". As you can read in the article it actually identifies characteristic sound patterns by their waveforms. They are pretty unique. Still, there is a small margin of error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+and-then Posted November 6, 2013 #13 Share Posted November 6, 2013 As you can read in the article it actually identifies characteristic sound patterns by their waveforms. They are pretty unique. Still, there is a small margin of error. I assumed it would be calibrated to discern between one type of sound and another - I just wondered if it had some doppler device to keep from miss-registering one event as multiple events. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent0range Posted November 6, 2013 #14 Share Posted November 6, 2013 I assumed it would be calibrated to discern between one type of sound and another - I just wondered if it had some doppler device to keep from miss-registering one event as multiple events. The sensors can determine the point of origin of the event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
questionmark Posted November 6, 2013 Author #15 Share Posted November 6, 2013 The sensors can determine the point of origin of the event. ... because it is detected by multiple sensors. The location is determined by run-time and triangulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiskatonicGrad Posted November 6, 2013 #16 Share Posted November 6, 2013 Relax it's just the DHS firing off some of the millions of rounds the have acquired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafterman Posted November 6, 2013 #17 Share Posted November 6, 2013 ... because it is detected by multiple sensors. The location is determined by run-time and triangulation. So says the Shotspotter PR materials at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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