From Dan Nguyen:
Today's Wall Street Journal features an article (subscription may be required after today to view it) on ShotSpotter Inc., the company behind a microphone network system that allows police to respond to gunshots within seconds.
Through a network of toaster-sized microphones fastened to rooftops and telephone poles, police are able to detect the crack of gunshots and pinpoint the sound's origin to within 80 feet. The system then displays the location of the shots on a computer map, alerting police within 15 seconds.
The technology is used in nearly 30 cities, including Oakland, which spent
$388,000 to deploy the system in 2006. According to the WSJ, Oakland's
system detected 3,000 gunshots in its first year. The downside is that
though the system provides valuable information (the article doesn't talk
about if there's an issue with false positives), it's only as effective as
the resources allocated to it.
But some larger cities have faced more limitations. Some Oakland lawmakers say that ShotSpotter has resulted in fewer than a dozen arrests since it was installed. The problem, they say, is that police don't dedicate enough resources to follow up on the shooting calls. "This technology works and there's proof that it works, but you have to dedicate resources to make it work," says Larry Reid, a member of the Oakland City Council.
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