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January 24, 2007

Latest on Gunshot Detection Technology

From SecurityInfoWatch.com:
A good article on the state of gunshot detection technology. It notes that 16 cities have installed ShotSpotter. A study in 1999 found the detection system to be accurate 80 percent of the time within 25 feet.

It also highlights some "success stories":

Less headline-grabbing are the cases seen in Minneapolis since installing ShotSpotter last month. Police have netted three felons, two semiautomatic guns, and recovered one stolen car. It also provided additional information in three shooting cases. "It's just a better compass. It still takes good cops, persistent investigation, and good police skills," says Lt. Gregory Reinhardt, spokesman for the Minneapolis police department. "It's just pointing us in a better direction."
However, Lt. Reinhardt admits that none of the arrested felons and confiscated items were necessarily involved in the original shooting. In one case, police arrived to find a car speeding off. Police pursued, then apprehended a suspect - a convicted felon - who tried to flee. In the car was a loaded semiautomatic pistol. In two other cases, police arrived to find people loitering. On each occasion they took names and found a person wanted on a warrant. "It's sort of hard to fathom that the purpose of the thing is to put police in a place where they can pick up people who are wanted on other warrants," says Mr. Yohnka.

A final interesting point concerns data security:

Data security will be one of the first questions. The entire system uses encryption, from sensor to server to dispatcher, says James Beldock, president of ShotSpotter. The server stores a record of each gunshot report that includes the time, the sensor readings, and calibration data.

Posted by rshah at January 24, 2007 09:19 PM

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