Source: http://www.shotspotter.com/

GUNFIRE-REDUCTION TECHNOLOGY=

GUNFIRE-LOCATION TECHNOLOGYE.G. SHOTSPOTTER

NAMEDEPARTMENT ORGANIZATION

WHY DO WE NEED THE NEW TECHNOLOGY?

THE PROBLEM OF RANDOM GUNFIRE

Random gunfire problems are distinguishable from other types of shooting incidents

• random gunfire is strictly an outdoor activity;

• it is not usually part of other criminal activity such as drug dealing, assaults, or robberies; and

• random gunfire shooters do not fire their weapons to intentionally injure or kill people (Mazerolle, 1999).

GUNFIRE REDUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

1. BEFORE

GIS

locate the location of gunfire TDOA (based on reported gunfire

accidents)

CAD-like system translate the information to a visual display of the location (Foster, 2005)

2. NOW

ShotSpotter acoustics-based GPS-equipped systemautomatically locates the origin of gunfirenotifies authorities

GUNFIRE LOCATION TECHNOLOGYSHOTSPOTTER

• A problem-solving tool to reduce random gunfire (Watkins, 2002)

• Was implemented in Redwood City in 1997

• Identifies the location and time of gunfire through a series of acoustic sensor modules

• Gunshot events are displayed on a computer map in the police dispatch center within approximately 15 seconds of the noise being made

HOW SHOTSPOTTER WORKS

1. When a gun fires, the sound is picked up

by acoustic sensors that triangulate the origin of

the sound.

2. Police dispatches and patrol officers in squad cars receive GPA data pinpointing the location and a recording of the sounds.

3. Police respond to the scene. Source: http://www.shotspotter.com/

HOW SHOTSPOTTER WORKS CONT.

• Sound speed - 340.29 meters per second (0.21 miles per second)

• Time Difference on Arrival TDOA

• Acoustic sensors with GPS

• Application for triangulation

STRENGTHS• Accurate location (as close as a few feet)

• Fast detection

• Provides additional data (like caliber of a gun and direction of shooting) that was not previously available

• Optimizes the ways in which officers approach homicide investigations

• Increases officer safety

• Equips law enforcement agencies with better crime data

WEAKNESSES

• Cost: ShotSpotter Flex costs $40-60,000 a year per square mile (Source: www.shotspotter.com);

• If the shots are fired inside of a building with windows and doors closed, sensors might not detect it (Probert, 2011);

• False response: criminals can trigger false response to keep police busy in order to commit a crime in another location where time is critical (for example, bank robbery) .

POSITIVE RESULTS OF USING SHOTSPOTTER (ACCORDING TO CBS NEWS)

In Minneapolis

• Killings 23%

• Robberies 20%

• Attacks 10%

Source: CBS news

In Saginaw (Shootings & Homicides)

Source: http://www.hourdetroit.com

REFERENCES

Foster, R. (2005).Police technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Kurlyandchik, M. (2011, June) How ShotSpotter and New Technologies Help Police Fight Crime. Hour Detroit.

Retrieved on March 15, 2012 from http://www.hourdetroit.com/core/pagetools.php

?

pageid=6273&url=%2FHour-Detroit%2FJune-2011%2FHow-ShotSpotter-Facebook-and-Technology-Help-Pol

ice-Fight-Crime%2F&mode=print

Mazerolle, L.G., Watkins, C., Rogan, D. , Frank, J. (1999, December)Random Gunfire Problems and

Gunshot Detection Systems. Research in Brief. Retrieved on March 14, 2012 from https

://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles1/nij/179274.txt

Probert, C. (2011, December 28). Gunshot location service coming to Quincy. Columbia Basin Herald. Retrieved

on March 14, 2012 from http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/news/article_cebaedcc-30bc-11e1-be37-

0019bb2963f4.html

Watkins, C., Rogan, D., Frank, J. (2002). Technological Approaches to Controlling Random Gunfire: Results of a

Gunshot Detection System Field Test. Policing 25.2 : 345-. ProQuest Central. Retrieved on March 13, 2012.

Official website for ShotSpotter http://www.shotspotter.com/

THANK YOU FOR ATTENTION!

Q&A