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Shotspotter detects 39,000 incidents in DC


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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.

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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.

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So 39K shots fired; and not one of them hit a decent target

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Brace yourselves: gun control advocates are on the way.

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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.

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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 by aztek
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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.

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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".

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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.

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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.

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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.
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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.

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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.

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Relax it's just the DHS firing off some of the millions of rounds the have acquired.

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... because it is detected by multiple sensors. The location is determined by run-time and triangulation.

So says the Shotspotter PR materials at least.

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