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90 Cities Install A Covert Technology That Listens For Gunshots (businessinsider.com)

An anonymous reader quotes Business Insider: In more than 90 cities across the US, including New York, microphones placed strategically around high-crime areas pick up the sounds of gunfire and alert police to the shooting's location via dots on a city map... ShotSpotter also sends alerts to apps on cops' phones. "We've gone to the dot and found the casings 11 feet from where the dot was, according to the GPS coordinates," Capt. David Salazar of the Milwaukee Police Dept. told Business Insider. "So it's incredibly helpful. We've saved a lot of people's lives."

When three microphones pick up a gunshot, ShotSpotter figures out where the sound comes from. Human analysts in the Newark, California, headquarters confirm the noise came from a gun (not a firecracker or some other source). The police can then locate the gunshot on a map and investigate the scene. The whole process happens "much faster" than dialing 911, Salazar said, though he wouldn't disclose the exact time.

The company's CEO argues their technology deters crime by demonstrating to bad neighborhoods that police will respond quickly to gunshots. (Although last year Forbes discovered that in 30% to 70% of cases, "police found no evidence of a gunshot when they arrived.") And in a neighborhood where ShotSpotter is installed, one 60-year-old man is already complaining, "I don't like Big Brother being in all my business."

156 of 292 comments (clear)

  1. Next in the news... by x0ra · · Score: 1

    "SWAT team dispatched at every construction site in the city"... Why ? One of the way to tie a sill plate to concrete is to use a powder-actuated nailer.

    1. Re:Next in the news... by Drethon · · Score: 3, Insightful

      From what I understand, nail guns are typically just .22 caliber and would have different sound from the pressure wave. The question then would be, can we detect the difference and is the difference still detectable at a distance or after echoes/reflections?

    2. Re:Next in the news... by TWX · · Score: 4, Interesting

      A powder-actuated nailer doesn't use a traditional barrel or fire a round that files through the air, so the sound made is different.

      A system like this is going to have some false-positives, and is going to miss some actual gunshots. This is a given. The point of a system like this is to have a significantly more likely chance of detecting firearms discharge than just relying on people to report it. People in bad neighborhoods may have a snitches-get-stitches attitude, or may just be so jaded to gunshots that they don't bother calling anymore. Either way, this is a somewhat independent way getting information.

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    3. Re:Next in the news... by nnet · · Score: 1

      is every construction site in your city a high crime area? thats more worrisome than placing mics in high crime areas.

    4. Re:Next in the news... by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      One of the way to tie a sill plate to concrete is to use a powder-actuated nailer.

      Super fun tool to use if you ever get a chance. Also, it's not super loud.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    5. Re: Next in the news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Sure, here is a reference to Glendale's use of Shot Tracker for over 13 years.

      For some reason I remember it being installed in Maryvale (part of the West-side of Phoenix) earlier because I was paying attention to things that might keep my kids from being hit by a stray bullet.

      There is every possibility that the local PD had an earlier test version in before Glendale (a city to the NW of Phoenix) purchased theirs in 2003.

    6. Re:Next in the news... by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      "SWAT team dispatched at every construction site in the city"... Why ? One of the way to tie a sill plate to concrete is to use a powder-actuated nailer.

      They are monitoring problem areas, not all areas. I'd say they know that a construction site is probably a poor place to place a monitor, or to expect nuisance alarms during the day if they do.

    7. Re:Next in the news... by Scarletdown · · Score: 1

      A powder-actuated nailer doesn't use a traditional barrel or fire a round that files through the air, so the sound made is different.

      So that means someone could shoot someone else at point blank or otherwise close range, and get away with it, because the report won't trigger the system? I would imagine that being shot with a nail out of a .22 caliber cartridge would probably mess one up as much as a real .22 bullet would do.

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      This space unintentionally left blank.
    8. Re: Next in the news... by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't rely on your imagination too much: a nail is designed to be inserted into wood as easily while being hard to extract. Bullets are designed to penetrate flesh, usually while causing as much trauma to surrounding flesh as possible (hollow points). There might just be a slight difference there...

    9. Re: Next in the news... by careysub · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Name the city.

      --
      Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
    10. Re: Next in the news... by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      I thought there was an app that did that.

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    11. Re:Next in the news... by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      So that means someone could shoot someone else at point blank or otherwise close range, and get away with it, because the report won't trigger the system?

      Well if they can "get away with it" now, then yes. It just means the current system of investigations takes effect.

    12. Re: Next in the news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Imaginarianectadotia.

    13. Re:Next in the news... by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      No, obviously it means someone is talking about powder activated tools without ever having spent much time on building sites https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.... The sound varies hugely depending upon the size of the charge https://www.hilti.com.au/direc... and what you are fixing to what ie wood or steel to concrete or steel. Some times not that loud and sometimes every nearby needs to wear hearing protection. Main reason not that much of a problem, they tend to be the fastener of last resort, simply too slow and expensive. Builders labourers can be quite 'hm' slow and will often shoot nails right through materials if left to their own device, this is much safer https://www.hilti.com.au/direc....

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    14. Re: Next in the news... by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 1

      If you've got a parrot that can shout at 150+db, that's impressive.

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
    15. Re:Next in the news... by TWX · · Score: 1

      Yep. As I expressed, some real shots will be missed. This is entirely expected.

      The advantage in managing to eliminate a lot of the all-but-point-blank shots though, is that it makes it harder for the shooter to avoid contaminating themselves with evidence. A firearm is a distance weapon, and when used at-range can make it very difficult to determine the particulars of the crime. The shooter's position may never be known, and the shooter might not get anything on themselves that they can't manage to clean-off. If a shooter has to literally press the barrel of the pistol into the victim's body to muffle the sound, then the shooter might end up covered in the victim's flesh and blood in a way that's detectable in an investigation.

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    16. Re: Next in the news... by Scarletdown · · Score: 1

      If you've got a parrot that can shout at 150+db, that's impressive.

      Yeah, if I had a parrot or any other bird that could achieve that, she would have to be named Ma Anand Sheela.

      --
      This space unintentionally left blank.
    17. Re:Next in the news... by computererds · · Score: 1

      So that means someone could shoot someone else at point blank or otherwise close range, and get away with it, because the report won't trigger the system? I would imagine that being shot with a nail out of a .22 caliber cartridge would probably mess one up as much as a real .22 bullet would do.

      If by close you mean barrel to body, so that all energy expelled from the barrel (not just the bullet) is being absorbed, then yes, it wouldn't trigger the system. Point blank is not close enough. You'd have to stifle the gas leaving the barrel.

      On that nail vs shot with a bullet from a 22 short though--the nail would certainly penetrate further, but the bullet would mushroom and deposit more energy. That's a real tossup.

  2. High crime areas by Kohath · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If you know which areas are high crime areas, why not locate the police precinct there?

    1. Re:High crime areas by Hentes · · Score: 1

      Because then the criminals would just move to a different area.

    2. Re:High crime areas by Phylter · · Score: 2

      In cities near me they've tried to do just that. Many of the residents aren't keen on it. The residents don't much trust police, being a mainly black community, probably due to the news in recent months about policy shootings.

    3. Re:High crime areas by Kohath · · Score: 2

      So move it there then.

    4. Re:High crime areas by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Having strangers drive in from afar isn't better. Residents would start to trust police if police showed themselves to be trustworthy over time.

    5. Re:High crime areas by Koby77 · · Score: 1

      There are relatively few police officers per person. Off-the-cuff searches indicate only 15 to 20 officers per 10,000 people. Some large cities employ more, in the 20 to 40 range, but keep in mind this number therefore needs to provide coverage 24/7, including holidays. That's 10 police officers per 8 hour shift, even in large cities, assuming that they work 356 days a year with no days off. Basically, they can't cover enough area with the available manpower, even if you narrow it down.

    6. Re:High crime areas by alvinrod · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's probably less expensive to move a sensor that listens for gunshots than an entire police precinct. It also doesn't really matter where you locate the precinct either since the police can take their cars and patrol wherever they're most needed. You'd want to have your precincts located in such a way that it makes it easy and efficient for police to deploy anywhere in the city, otherwise if you locate them nearest the worst neighborhoods you'll probably not have a very even distribution as bad neighborhoods tend to be clustered.

    7. Re:High crime areas by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Ok, but 90+% (98% ?) of people don't need police at all.

    8. Re:High crime areas by nnet · · Score: 1

      Why? Precincts don't patrol, cops do, in cars, on horseback, on bikes, on their feet.

    9. Re:High crime areas by nnet · · Score: 1

      so they don't need a precinct moved. see?

    10. Re:High crime areas by denbesten · · Score: 1

      Ok, but 90+% (98% ?) of people don't need police at all.

      Sure, even us 98%ers need them:

      They investigate accidents.
      They are first responders, providing aid until EMT/Fire arrives.
      They console the patient's family and often offer them rides behind the ambulance.
      They efficiently manage traffic after heavily attended events, such as fireworks.
      They drive through my neighborhood as I sleep making sure everything is "OK".
      They help find lost kids.
      They hang out at high school sports ensuring that the "2%" do not destroy the game for us 98%ers.
      They teach subjects, such as drug and bicycle safety in our schools.
      They are members of our communities attending church, buying groceries, being friends, having kids, etc.

      Just as good fences make for good neighbors, good police make for great small towns.

    11. Re: High crime areas by KGIII · · Score: 1

      The police towers are strange.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    12. Re:High crime areas by Kohath · · Score: 1

      So station them in high crime areas and have them drive 20 minutes to direct traffic at the stadium or whatever other non-emergency thing you need.

  3. Is it surveillance? by oic0 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm not sure fan of big brother, but it's illegal to fire guns within most city limits and anyone doing so I doing something that needs police attention. This is one form of surveillance that seems unobtrusive and doesn't violate any form of privacy. That said, if they start listening with better microphones and storing data, that's a whole other ballgame.

    1. Re:Is it surveillance? by guises · · Score: 3

      This is a case where proactive regulation is needed. We need a law upfront that says these are for real-time detection of gunshots only and should not be collecting any other data, or storing any data at all.

      This won't happen of course. We've been going through this with the Stingrays only recently - these will be unregulated until they're abused, then people will complain, then law enforcement will point out that they've already been using them for a while for all kinds of things with no complaints and that they have become an indispensable tool. Then it will be a long and slow fight to curtail their use, and it will never be curtailed down to the point where they're just detecting gunshots.

  4. 20 years by 110010001000 · · Score: 4, Informative

    ShotSpotter has had this for over 20 years in cities. In some tinfoil hat just learning about it?

    1. Re:20 years by CODiNE · · Score: 1

      Really by now these should be standard exhibits in questionable shooting cases.

      Oh wait they're not being used to show who fired first or how many shots were actually fired?

      Interesting. Perhaps these records should be public.

      --
      Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
    2. Re:20 years by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      How would a microphone determine who was shooting across the city? It just pinpoints location.

  5. Not sure how "covert" this is... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 5, Informative

    San Francisco Bay Area police departments have been using this technology for years.

    ShotSpotter has been used for several years in six Bay Area cities. Police say ShotSpotter has helped them respond more quickly to crime scenes and capture suspects, and provide court evidence to solve homicide cases. Oakland police started using the gunshot detection technology in 2006; it now covers 80 percent of the city, said Capt. Ersie Joyner.

    http://www.mercurynews.com/2013/11/11/shotspotter-has-long-history-with-bay-area-police/

    1. Re:Not sure how "covert" this is... by Solandri · · Score: 1

      One of the companies I interviewed for fresh out of grad school in the 1990s was developing the same thing to help pinpoint snipers in Bosnia.

  6. Re:One way people could mess with this... by chuckugly · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Take a brown paper bag, the tall ones you get at liquor stores, blow em up as much as you can, then pop - in the right conditions, in a city, sounds like a fucking gunshot going off.

    Says someone with no clue what a real gunshot sounds like.

  7. opposing article by kqc7011 · · Score: 3, Interesting
    --
    Passionately Indifferent
    1. Re:opposing article by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Seems mostly devoid of any criticism or useful information. All the article suggests is that the reason it's being covered a lot lately is because it's going public (selling shares.) It doesn't offer an opinion on the service or technology at all.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    2. Re:opposing article by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Did you read the linked blog, or is this snark for the snark of snark?
      All the blog entry said was that it was funny the product was getting good press while they were going public, as this was evidence of something shady going on and not the history of just about every company that has gone public in the last 30 years.

  8. "Covert" by SeattleLawGuy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Is it really a covert technology when it's publicized? I've heard about these installations for years. Even the Summary talks about an article last year in Forbes.

    This isn't secret surveillance, it's highly targeted mass surveillance--it only triggers on a very particular thing that involves a high degree of risk to the public. Save your big brother complaints for things like actual internet surveillance, overreaching electronic searches, or better yet for things like reform around the existing big-brother-esque things that cause massive damage to the economy every day. (E.g. bad uses of criminal records or credit reports)

    --
    Real lawyers write in C++
  9. Covert? Bullshit. by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 3, Informative

    Ooooo! "Covert"!!! Big Brother Bad!

    My guess is it's not "covert" if you follow city politics and the city council approval at public meetings necessary to buy and install this technology.

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    1. Re:Covert? Bullshit. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      And in a neighborhood where ShotSpotter is installed, one 60-year-old man is already complaining, "I don't like Big Brother being in all my business."

      What do you think the chances are this 60 year old man would be first in line to complain that big brother didn't "get in all his business" after he calls 911 to report someone breaking into his home, or stealing his car, or robbing him at gunpoint?

    2. Re:Covert? Bullshit. by nnet · · Score: 1

      how do you know his position is not based on wanting to shoot and kill the perps without facing any consequences? what made you think otherwise? I'm seriously interested to know what motivated your comment.

  10. Re:Saved lives? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    Right. Because drugged up loons always hit with the first shot, and one person shooting doesn't cause others to join in.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  11. Because all they're really doing by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    is making sure the crime doesn't spill over from the poor neighborhoods to the rich ones. Crime 'fighting' is about containment. If you're old enough to remember the Rodney King riots you might also remember people asking why they just destroyed their own neighborhoods. The reason was the neighborhoods were surrounded by swat teams. The teams didn't move in and quell the riots, they just kept 'em in.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:Because all they're really doing by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Along with locating in high crime areas, they'd also want to stop policing much of the "behavior" that's illegal but doesn't hurt anyone -- and actually "protect and serve" the community instead.

    2. Re:Because all they're really doing by blindseer · · Score: 1

      You don't think that these gunshot detectors have any deterrent value? There's a lot of studies that show people are less likely to commit a crime if they think they could get caught.

      For a college statistics course I thought I'd do a study on the correlation between gun laws and crime, since that is a topic of some popularity lately. What I found was a positive correlation between gun restrictions and incidences of rape and murder. The more laws restricting gun ownership the more likely people were going to get raped or murdered. We hear a lot about "gun laws" and "gun crime" but I'm more interested in laws and crime.

      Gun laws aren't really about guns, they are about rights. People have the right to defend themselves and restrictions on guns restrict that right. Less freedom means more crime.

      We hear the same things about how gun ownership does not save lives because so few gun owners shoot criminals. You think that maybe criminals don't like getting shot so they avoid gun owners?

      That's another thing about my statistics assignment, it showed a correlation between gun ownership and property crimes. That makes some sense. Criminals don't like getting shot so when people are armed they don't mug people, they wait until they leave home and steal their stuff. Still not ideal but fewer people get hurt this way. This is also difficult to prove since the police arrive only after the crime was reported.

      I do think you are right about these gunshot detectors but didn't finish the thought. If the gunshot detectors only alert the police after the criminals have left the scene then how do we make sure armed people are on the scene as the crime happens? We know that the scene of the crime there will be two people, the assailant and the victim. The answer then, IMHO, is to arm the potential victims.

      Don't take my statistical analysis as any kind of evidence, others have done the same kind of study and posted the results. Remember that the problem is "crime" and not "gun crime". If the study does not count all murders but instead "gun homicides" then they lie to you twice over. The first lie is to leave out murders with non-firearm weapons, I don't care if the murder was with a gun, knife, or lead pipe. The second lie is to include justified self defense shootings as a "gun homicide". Shooting in self defense is technically a "gun homicide" but it is not a crime. The goal should be to reduce crime, not necessarily shootings.

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
  12. Works here by christurkel · · Score: 4, Interesting

    When the City of Pittsfield installed these the amount of gun shootings went down noticibly. My neighborhood is quiet now. I am now very much pro ShotSpotter.

    --

    CDE open sourced! https://sourceforge.net/projects/cdesktopenv/
    1. Re:Works here by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 1

      Out of curiosity, what happened to the rates of other forms of armed violence?

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      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
    2. Re:Works here by computererds · · Score: 1

      Posting in case anyone else wonders:

      "The company estimates its service can cost between $65,000 and $95,000 a year per square mile, not including the cost of installing equipment."

  13. Combine this with drones... by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've always liked the idea of sensors over a city to detect gunshots, but police still take some time to arrive to see what is going on.

    I think a big improvement on this would be a fleet of camera drones around the city that could be launched as soon as a gunshot was heard, so you could have a view of the scene in under 30 seconds anywhere in a city...

    It would also be really helpful for 911 calls so police could get a video of what was happening at the scene of a call even as they were en-route.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Combine this with drones... by blindseer · · Score: 1

      That would be useless against the kind of criminal that is most problematic right now, the kind that do not care if they get caught because they are on a suicidal mission.

      You can get a view of the scene if you like but that's not going to solve the problem. What's likely to solve the problem is people able to shoot back.

      Israel had a problem with school shootings until they decided to put armed men guarding the schools. The last "successful" (if you can call it that) school shooting that I could find when I last bothered to look was at a bible school library. These future ministers were having a study group when some idiot thought he could shoot up the place. The students returned fire with their own guns. I recall three students died as did the assailant.

      The lawmakers in DC right now are having a debate about the continued ban on people being able to carry weapons there because of that charity baseball game Congress was holding. This would not normally be considered a high risk event but DC police happened to be there that day. It could have been much worse. What bothers me is that Congress didn't consider this a possibility until after it happened to them. Shit like this happens every day in the USA.

      Unless this drone is carrying explosives and lands on the murderer's head before self detonating then I think flying drones just waiting for someone to get shot is a bad idea. If crime is so bad that drones are flying around to see someone get shot then something went wrong long ago.

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    2. Re:Combine this with drones... by Jeremi · · Score: 1

      That would be useless against the kind of criminal that is most problematic right now, the kind that do not care if they get caught because they are on a suicidal mission.

      That is the kind of criminal that gets the most news coverage, but suicidal mass shooters are not the most problematic type of criminal right now, nor have they ever been.

      Around 33,000 people are shot to death each year in the USA.

      Out of those 33,000, less than 50 per year are killed as part of a Columbine/Aurora/SanBernardino style shooting spree.

      So you're imagining requirements that would apply to about one tenth of one percent of the actual gun homicides that occur. The media (or somebody) has distorted your view of reality.

      --


      I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
    3. Re:Combine this with drones... by blindseer · · Score: 1

      Around 33,000 people are shot to death each year in the USA.

      I see you've been getting your statistics from the gun grabbers.
      Of those 30,000 "gun deaths" half are suicides. I don't see a need to fly a drone over to the scene because some depressed fucker put a hole in his head. Such people aren't much of a threat to the public and once that shot is fired there is no need to be in a hurry to pick up the pieces.

      Out of those 33,000, less than 50 per year are killed as part of a Columbine/Aurora/SanBernardino style shooting spree.

      Of the roughly 13000 murders every year about 8,000 of them are from firearms. In those cases where someone is intent on taking as many people with them to the grave they choose a group of people that are not likely to be armed. As you say these incidences are rare and flying a drone to the scene and hoping it would be effective does seem like wishful thinking.

      When it comes to drug dealers fighting over territory, muggings, and other single victim crime, I don't see a drone as much help either. They'll maybe find the victim a few seconds sooner but the criminal will be gone and lost in the crowd even before the drone gets there. What would be helpful in the cases of the single and multiple victim crimes are more armed people. People being able to shoot back would also help for the many cases where the assailant is armed with something other than a firearm. The drones can still come, if you like, only now they'll be picking up what's left of the fucker that pulled a knife thinking he'd rape someone.

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
  14. Great by Packet+Pusher · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As a gun lover, and privacy lover I can't see how this is a bad thing. Cities have gun regulations making it illegal to fire a firearm. If it is a justified self-defence act the person being attacked would like the police to come anyway. If it's an illegal firing then we want the police to respond.

    Make it so it's not possible to be used for any other use than dispatching armed officers/first responders even with a warrant or national security issue though without being put forward as vote by all of the voters. It's reasonable to allow surveillance uses of automated technology as long as the public interest and their privacy is protected.

  15. Re:Or, just play... by chuckugly · · Score: 1

    Sure, with that iPhone you've got that can reproduce a 160db gunshot with adequate fidelity ....

  16. This is useful for dumb criminals (99%) but . . . by richardmilhousnixon · · Score: 1

    This tech does more harm than good when dealing with professional killers (governments). This type of audio triangulation is easily defeated, primarily because of how weak the signal detected is (audio, even from a 170 dBm source, is very low energy 1km away). With a single phase array emitter directed at the detectors, you can simulate a gunshot anywhere you want with less than 1 watt output. Such devices have already been built (by both Israel and Germany) to defeat this technology, which has been deployed near battlefields for a lot longer than in cities.

    --
    -- sometimes AND gates turn me on.
  17. Re:What? by nnet · · Score: 1

    +5

  18. Re:Saved lives? by TWX · · Score: 1

    Not all incidents involve a single shot being fired, or all shots being fired in extremely quick succession.

    Not all victims die instantly as a result of being shot.

    Not all incidents result in someone being shot, but where the shooter is still a danger.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  19. Re:"For Gunshots"... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I used to live in Maryvale, a suburb of Phoenix AZ

    The gunfire was getting ridiculous in the late 1990's, with bullets coming through my front window, teenagers shot in front of my house and 'celebratory' gunfire that included people emptying 30 round clips from AKs and AR-15s

    The city installed a shot location system and the state passed 'Shannon's Law' that made it a felony to discharge your weapon into the air in a city

    It did not help the drive-by situation directly, but it cut down on the overall amount of gunfire

  20. Meh... by drew_92123 · · Score: 1

    It's a waste of money and only useful for catching the absolute dumbest of criminals... the rest will find ways around it, from using decoys and distractions(folks shooting off guns through a hole in the floor of their car or dropping large firecrackers for example...) to silencers, smart criminals can easily evade such a system... of course the police and the companies that made the systems won't tell you that because they love wasting your tax dollars and are scared to admit that the only real solution is to give up on the worthless expensive war on drugs and the fight for more gun control and instead focus on drug treatment and making it easier to good law abiding citizens to adequately arm themselves for protection.

    1. Re:Meh... by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      It's a waste of money and only useful for catching the absolute dumbest of criminals...

      Make up your mind: is it a waste of money or is it useful? Bear in mind that criminals, like the general population are on average mediocre at their jobs.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
  21. Covert? by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    It's in the fucking press, why on earth is this 'covert'?

    "(Although last year Forbes discovered that in 30% to 70% of cases, "police found no evidence of a gunshot when they arrived.")"

    The word you're looking for is a 'revolver' or a guy who isn't too lazy to pick up his casings.

  22. Re:Dolts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    When your dog shits on the living room carpet, you let him know that was a BAD thing.

    Electing Trump was the same as shitting on the country's living room carpet and the only way to get voters to avoid doing that again is to remind them until the behavior changes

  23. Re: "For Gunshots"... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Criminals or not it has cut down dramatically on the gunfire in the city

    Maybe you are not just trolling and would participate in a thought experiment

    1. If a city has a high degree of 'celebratory' gun fire, would that provide cover for people using guns to commit crimes?
    2. Then would developing a method to reduce non-criminal discharges of weapons make the criminals using weapons more obvious?
    3. Once that the criminals are the only ones firing weapons in the city, would it become easier to locate and respond, resulting in less criminal activity (at least using guns in public)?

    This has been the case in metro Phoenix, as usual reality trumps nra fear-mongering

  24. Re: "For Gunshots"... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Perhaps not, but enforcement gives dignity to the law. People begin to respect the law when it is consistently and quickly enforced.

  25. Re:One way people could mess with this... by sjames · · Score: 1

    Keep in mind, a .22 isn't all that loud.

  26. Re: "For Gunshots"... by alvinrod · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Smart criminals do, at least insofar as it doesn't curtail their criminal enterprise. If you're an intelligent criminal and making good money, you'll avoid drawing police attention to yourself as much as possible. Stupid criminals won't, which just makes them easier to catch.

  27. Re: "For Gunshots"... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    Yeah, I've never understood the "laws are useless because criminals break laws" approach. You hear it a lot in the Second Amendment community.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  28. Re:OK With Technolgy, But... by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 2

    If the only places that these devices are placed are in "Bad Neighborhoods", then the Police State is demonstrably racist.

    Wouldn't it be racist to assume 'bad neighborhoods' had a racial identity or connotation?

  29. Re: "For Gunshots"... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    When you don't have a legitimate argument, the key is to raise your hackles, stomp your feet, and scream at the top of your lungs.

    That's their modus operandi. This is also why they can be flying a Confederate Flag and shouting their love for country. In Minnesota and Iowa.

  30. Re:Fireworks. by RightwingNutjob · · Score: 4, Informative

    Not really. Unless you really have a barrel length of zero and a round of zero mass, there will be a sonic boom from the bullet for at least a little while. A microphone staged downrange will pick up two cracks: one from the sonic boom of the bullet and a second one from the charge exploding. The bullet is supersonic, so the sound from it originates closer to the microphone, whereas the gun is stationary and its sound will arrive later. The reverse is true if the microphone is behind the gun, and there's an area of ambiguity if you're perpendicular to the muzzle on either side, which is why multiple microphones.

    Firecrackers, nail guns, and anything else that doesn't send a supersonic projectile doesn't have that double crack. It's not hard to tell by ear in many cases and certainly not too hard to automate classification to some acceptable level of false alarm rates.

  31. Why it's (sort of) bad by sjbe · · Score: 1

    As a gun lover, and privacy lover I can't see how this is a bad thing.

    The bad thing about it is that it is basically an admission of defeat in preventing people from shooting at each other in the first place. It solves the wrong problem. The problem that needs to be solved is how do we prevent the violence before it occurs rather than how do we catch offenders more quickly after the fact. Something like this makes sense in a war zone but if you need to install it during what is ostensibly peacetime then something is terribly wrong with public policy. Peaceful cities don't get that way because of a rapid response police force. They get that way because of good public policy and economic opportunity.

    I'm not saying technology like this is a bad idea in a violent locale. Being able to quickly identify, localize, and respond to violent acts is a worthy goal as a general proposition and if the problem already exists you have to deal with it. I'm just saying that there about a thousand other more productive ways to work this problem. Technology like this should be a last resort, not standard procedure.

    If it is a justified self-defence act the person being attacked would like the police to come anyway. If it's an illegal firing then we want the police to respond.

    While true, it's important to remember that few gunshots actually come from justifiable acts of self defense. The vast majority of shots fired aimed at humans are either attempts at murder or suicide. This is the flaw in this as a matter of public policy. It's like installing smoke detectors instead of ensuring the wiring in your home is safe and proper. While better than nothing it's not really the best approach to solving the problem.

    It's reasonable to allow surveillance uses of automated technology as long as the public interest and their privacy is protected.

    Agreed. The concerning bit is that people routinely disagree on what constitutes "the public interest" and the importance of privacy. People who are scared tend to have a rather different view of those ideas than those who aren't.

    1. Re:Why it's (sort of) bad by Packet+Pusher · · Score: 1

      While in the future there may be a way to cure whatever creates violent actions but it's simply a pipe dream at this stage. Humans are violent, they rage, they get hurt, angry, we react and act with the intent to win, sometimes at any cost. That's part of our core programming, even if in the future it's possible to suppress there would be ethical questions about if we should. Who will defend us from unpredicted future abuse if not people who are ready to take violent action for themselves or others?

      I feel cities are pretty safe because of a large amount of police in a fairly small area, I have no problem walking around NY City or any major City without a pistol. It's already illegal to do so some places and that's cool, whatever works for them.. The vast majority of the US however has no police force that could respond before you are dead even if you called 911 as soon as you suspected possible future threat. It's not that difficult to get to places in the US that you can't get a cell signal and even if you could call 911 and somehow managed to know where you were it'd be a half an hour to get a police officer there.

      Most gunshots near me are from hunting are from shooting ranges. No one would report a gunshot, not even a police officer unless they either saw something bad or it was happening too close to someone's house. I doubt I've ever even heard a gunshot related crime and doubt 99.9% of people living around me have either.

      What works for guns in cities does not work outside of cities, different places, different problems.

    2. Re:Why it's (sort of) bad by Gryle · · Score: 1

      The bad thing about it is that it is basically an admission of defeat in preventing people from shooting at each other in the first place. It solves the wrong problem. The problem that needs to be solved is how do we prevent the violence before it occurs rather than how do we catch offenders more quickly after the fact. Something like this makes sense in a war zone but if you need to install it during what is ostensibly peacetime then something is terribly wrong with public policy.

      If you can figure out how to fix human nature, there's a Nobel Peace Prize, and probably a dozen or so prestigious prizes in philosophy and biology for you. Until then, we have interim solutions such as these.

      --
      Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not entirely sure about the universe - Einstein
    3. Re:Why it's (sort of) bad by fish_in_the_c · · Score: 1

      "The bad thing about it is that it is basically an admission of defeat in preventing people from shooting at each other in the first place. " -- I think not admitting defeat on this level is naïve at best. My guess would be that in places where this technology is in consistent use you will see an uptick in being knifed , beat to death and run over with cars. Although I think the use of the technology is good, focusing exclusively on eliminating one type of weapon is mistaking the nature of what is happen and why.

      --
      âoeTolerance applies only to persons, but never to truth. Intolerance applies only to truth, but never to persons.
  32. Re:Saved lives? by minstrelmike · · Score: 1

    Damn. That's why the Republicans passed that law allowing silencers. Because of the listening ears. I knew there had to be a better reason than simply being an NRA recruiting tactic.

  33. Solving the wrong problem by sjbe · · Score: 1

    Make up your mind: is it a waste of money or is it useful?

    I think most of the time it will be a waste of money. Reason being that it solves the wrong problem. What we should actually want is not a police force that response quicker but public policy that makes it so police response isn't necessary in the first place. Peaceful cities don't get that way by having a hyper-vigilant police force that can respond instantly - if anything that tends to make things worse in most cases. No, cities become peaceful through good public policy and economic opportunity. The details can vary by location but if you need technology like this it's a CLEAR indication that public policy is in bad shape.

    1. Re: Solving the wrong problem by guruevi · · Score: 1, Interesting

      The biggest problems in the US are in Democrat run cities which is the party with the fairest, least discriminatory public policies that run solely on the platform of investing in the poor and underprivileged.

      From the US to Africa though, dumping money into a bad situation doesn't help. The money doesn't get to the right people and if it does it is only used to perpetuate the problem and there are often much deeper roots between (black) privilege and engrained anti-establishment sentiments or outright distrust that cause any efforts to be nullified.

      I've been in this world long enough and have lived under the policies of more than a dozen different governments (including the US-type). The only way in my opinion to end segregation of violence and perpetuation of the status quo like the problems in the US inner cities is forced education and heavy handed enforcement of justice.

      If you make the punishment of crime painful and severe with a heavy social rejection factor where it makes a difference in someone's life as is common in some Asian countries, you will end a lot of crime. This does not mean victimless crimes like smoking pot should have a jail sentence enforced, the laws first of all have to be justified in order for the population to be able to respect the establishment.

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
    2. Re:Solving the wrong problem by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      Hm OK, fair point.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
  34. Driving while black by sjbe · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Protip: If you don't break the law, you don't have to worry about being """overpoliced""" (That is, you don't have to worry about being a criminal if you are not a criminal). It's that simple.

    No it is not that simple. Every single black man I know has had the lovely experience of being harassed by police for driving while black. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. They were not breaking any laws or causing any problems when it happened. Just because you haven't broken any law does not even begin to mean that you do not have to worry about being over policed.

    Just because you have nothing to hide doesn't mean you have nothing to fear.

    1. Re: Driving while black by guruevi · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Funny because I have an extensive black family that doesn't have that problem. You do not get pulled over for being black, you get pulled over because there was cause, if a cop had to pull over 40% of all drivers without cause, they'd never ever write a ticket not to mention it's very hard to see race when someone is speeding past you at 60mph, from an angle in the dark.

      I'm white and I've been pulled over many times, oftentimes without receiving a ticket. One time I was looking for a street and accidentally swerved just a tiny bit and instantly got the flashing lights on me. Other times I was speeding but they couldn't nail down the speed on their radar and were fishing for me to say how fast I was going. A few times it was just a broken head or taillight.

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
    2. Re: Driving while black by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Funny because I have an extensive black family that doesn't have that problem.

      I get the feeling that you've never bothered to ask them. When even a republican senator gets pulled over seven times in one year something is wrong.

      I'm white and I've been pulled over many times,

      Its pretty telling that you think these stories of you being legitimately pulled over as a white guy are at all relevant. I've noticed this style of rhetoric from people defending an indefensible position - they talk about examples that superficially sound related to the topic but are fundamentally red herrings.

      Since it probably isn't clear to you, I'll be specific why its irrelevant: (1) a white experience says nothing about the black experience and (2) legitimately being pulled over says nothing about cases of illegitimately being pulled over. You have no idea how many times you weren't pulled over despite there being a legitimate reason. If you've been pulled over a few times for broken lights, that means you were driving around for weeks, probably months, with broken lights and most of the time the cops ignored you.

    3. Re: Driving while black by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Are you seriously claiming that it doesn't happen based on your knowledge of other people's experiences? When a simple google or wikipedia search shows the countless studies that verify it?

    4. Re:Driving while black by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Don't want cop harassment? Drive a car that says: "I can afford a good shyster'. Simple as that.

      Easiest way to project that: Have a car payment, don't buy your car for cash. You should be paying at least half your rent in car payment + insurance.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  35. Re:Only good at detection by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

    (unmarked cars are not about preventing crime, they are for catching people after they break the law).

    No, marked cars are for catching people after breaking the law as well as a number of other things. Unmarked cars are for catching people 'as' they are committing a crime. Theoretically, if all cars were marked then a criminal would always know when it was safe to commit a crime.

    But marked vs unmarked cars isn't a primary issue or solution. Spending more money doesn't seem to help either, because how that money is used is often limited to inneffective programs (not saying there are no effective ones that could expand). More cops can help, but some places see that as an unwanted intrusion. Programs that isolate young kids from bad influences while providing good influences work the best, but often the bad influences are family and so there is resistance to that type of social program approach. Stop and Frisk saves lives, but cities have determined the intrusion on individual rights is too great to save those lives.

    So our hands are tied as we are left with little effective methods to deal with the issues. The politics of division make it that much harder to do anything effective.

  36. Re: Fireworks. by KGIII · · Score: 4, Informative

    Slight nitpick, sub-sonic .22LR rounds are a thing.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  37. Re: "For Gunshots"... by lgw · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yeah, I've never understood the "laws are useless because criminals break laws" approach.

    Well, that's you. I've never understood the "solution to every problem is more government" approach you totalitarians love, myself.

    --
    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  38. Re: Saved lives? by KGIII · · Score: 1

    Suppressor. They aren't made magically silent.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  39. Re:"For Gunshots"... by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 5, Informative

    Shannon's Law was directed specifically at celebratory gunfire, such as firing into the air for New Year. This is a feature of, um, a certain culture. Shannon was a young girl who went outside with her family to see the New Year in and suddenly dropped dead of a round that had been fired miles away.

  40. Re:I assume you're talking about drugs by Kohath · · Score: 1

    Calling someone a racist doesn't help anything. I know that's what you guys live your life for, but if you actually wanted to help people you'd stop pointing fingers first, last, and always, and you might actually try to get along with people and help them out.

  41. Re:One way people could mess with this... by chuckugly · · Score: 1

    Most pistols are around 150db or more, much less and I doubt this system would detect it.

  42. Re: Fireworks. by Deadstick · · Score: 1

    Not just a thing: the subsonic .22LR makes up a majority of all firearms cartridges manufactured. If you hear two cracks from one of those, one is an echo.

  43. Re:One way people could mess with this... by Gavagai80 · · Score: 1

    How many people think it's fun to cause a bunch of armed and anxious police officers to quickly converge on their own location? Seems like a self-correcting problem.

    --
    This space intentionally left blank
  44. Re:What? by Gavagai80 · · Score: 1

    Even if we completely ignore the idea that further shots can be prevented, arriving quickly at a location where someone has been shot is obviously the best way to save their life. Bullets are not nuclear weapons that vaporize people on impact, about 90% of people who are shot live and we can save more of that last 10% with quicker action.

    --
    This space intentionally left blank
  45. Re:Fireworks. by blindseer · · Score: 3, Informative

    There's lots of common handgun ammunition that is subsonic. The .45 Colt and .45 ACP come to mind immediately because I have sidearms chambered for those cartridges. There's also plenty of "specialty" sub-sonic ammunition for other common cartridges like 9mm. There's even subsonic rifle ammunition that is not too hard to find.

    I've seen the reasons for these subsonic cartridges to exist in the modern era. First is that they are cheap. It takes less metal and allows for lower tolerances for subsonic ammunition. Second is that there seems to be a lot of people doing cowboy action shooting and other hobbies that like the old style guns. Supersonic ammunition is a fairly recent development, especially for handguns. Third, for a firearm suppressor to work properly subsonic ammunition must be used.

    The .45 ACP is apparently quite popular among the special forces types because it can be effectively suppressed. It bothers me when I see people that will make YouTube videos that "show" how ineffective firearm suppressors are by putting one on a gun and fire off supersonic ammunition. I can tell that the ammunition is supersonic by it's distinctive "crack" as it leaves the barrel. Both sides do it too. The "pro-gun" people will want to show that guns can still be detected by things like these shot detectors. The "anti-gun" side do this to show that no one would want them since they don't work, therefore they can be banned, or something.

    One thing that I wonder about is the number of false negatives. People talk about the false positives with things like firecrackers or something being detected as a shot but what of a shot that was not detected? Isn't that a thing? I remember reading somewhere of someone that shot another and not waking sleeping children in the next room by wrapping a revolver with a pillow. Had to have been something subsonic like a .45 Colt or .38 Special.

    I have to wonder if the criminals will figure this out. Wrapping a revolver in a pillow might be rather conspicuous but there might be other ways to suppress the noise with something to the point it would not be detected by these shot spotters. In the US federal law the possession of a firearm suppressor is tightly controlled. Using a firearm suppressor in the commission of a crime can get a 30 year sentence. I'd think though that in the interest of getting away with murder someone might not be all that concerned about an additional 30 year sentence.

    There is a movement in the USA to get firearm suppressors regulated like shotguns (no fees, must be 18 years old, show ID, not have a criminal history, done with 5 minute phone call) instead of like machine guns ($200 tax, fingerprints, extensive background check, 2 years wait for processing, signatures from sheriff, psychiatrist, and your mom, and usually involves a lawyer to get the paperwork in order). This movement is growing because of the obvious hearing protection advantages from suppressors. If that happens then criminals could get them more often by theft, falsifying records, straw purchase, etc.

    I'm not a fan of banning suppressors because criminals might use them in a crime. If that were true then we'd be banning a lot of things because criminals use them to harm others. I'm just thinking of how ineffective these shot spotter devices could be in the not too distant future. I think people are relying too much on government and technology to save them from what they fear. That's just not healthy thinking, IMHO.

    --
    I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
  46. Re:"For Gunshots"... by amxcoder · · Score: 1

    I've never seen an AK or AR-15 that uses "clips" before. That's new!

  47. Re: Fireworks. by KGIII · · Score: 1

    That is correct. You can get the faster rounds, they are available. Federal cartons are sub-sonics, for example. The faster will say something like Hi-Speed (which Federal does make, but I think only sells in smaller boxes and not the 500 round cartons).

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  48. Re: Fireworks. by judoguy · · Score: 1

    Even slighter nitpick. There are quite a few subsonic caliber rounds available, e.g., 9mm, etc.

    --
    Peace is easy to achieve, just surrender. Liberty is much harder get/keep.
  49. hilarious by slashrio · · Score: 1

    "...We've saved a lot of people's lives."

    Sure..., after they were shot?

    --
    "Trump!!", the new Godwin.
  50. They might by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    I'm just saying that's not their main purpose; any more than prison's main purpose is to rehabilitate people.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  51. Pointing out institutionalized racism by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    and calling someone a racist aren't even remotely the same thing. If we're going to tackle a problem we have to acknowledge it's existence. You can't really believe Philando Castile was shot just because the cop thought he was reaching for his gun. Hell, the worst thing was the cop probably really thought he was. The cop was more likely to believe a black man would shoot him than hand over his driver's license.

    That's institutionalized racism in a nutshell. When you don't even realize you're doing it. When you can say with a straight face "my black friends are fine but..." and mean it. Are law enforcement practices are a huge part of that.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:Pointing out institutionalized racism by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Helps no one.

    2. Re:Pointing out institutionalized racism by sandmaninator · · Score: 1

      I'd suggest you take more care with your wording.
      "Institutionalized" means there is something codified within an institution, For example, if there were a police procedure document that states "Always pull your gun on black men during traffic stops". There is no such thing. In fact, our institutions attempt to suppress racist tendencies with their official procedures. The problem is that cops are still human and, without sufficient training, they remain the unwitting racists all of us were born to be.
      There has been much research over the last few decades that makes clear that humans are associative machines. We make assumptions, biases and generalizations at a sub-conscious level and react to those biases before we even have a chance for our higher-level reasoning abilities to tell us "Calm down, this black man means you no harm".
      All of us could use better training to counter our natural racist instincts.

  52. Re:Saved lives? by Presence+Eternal · · Score: 1

    That's not how silencers work. Also unless they're pointing laser microphones at your window, they aren't invading privacy.

  53. Re: "For Gunshots"... by dryeo · · Score: 1

    Shoving the guns up the arses of idiots who don't understand that they're not a toy is another solution. Do you have any suggestions what to do with people that fire off firearms in a reckless manner?

    --
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
  54. Re: "For Gunshots"... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2, Informative

    Because the shootings that gain national media attention tend to be committed with illegally owned weapons.

    That is simply not true. In fact, it is the exact opposite of true. Eighty percent of the mass shootings in the last three decades were committed using legally-purchased weapons.

    http://time.com/4367592/orland...

    http://www.nbcnews.com/storyli...

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  55. Re:Fireworks. by blindseer · · Score: 1

    My understanding is that suppressors are incredibly easy to get in Commonwealth countries (where the guns are harder to obtain).

    That is my understanding as well. Not only are they incredibly easy to obtain it is considered "rude" to not have one.

    This is the story I was told on the history of the restrictions on firearm suppressors. The laws restricting gun ownership really started in the USA (and in many nations around the world really) in the 1920s and 1930s. World War One had ended and people had access to a lot of surplus weapons. There was a government concern of another public uprising like what happened around the world in the events leading to the war, and the Great Depression was starting. The prohibition on alcohol didn't help as that led to a lot of black market crime.

    In the USA a law passed on the restrictions on firearm ownership in 1934. The publicly stated reason for restricting firearm suppressors was to limit poaching. This became a problem as poor people could more easily afford a one time expense of a suppressed rifle in order to turn cheap war surplus ammunition into meat. This had little to do with reality since there was plenty of wildlife then and few law enforcement in large segments of the USA. A more likely situation was to deter assassination of unpopular government officials, and to better find anyone that made such an attempt.

    In the UK they had a different problem, rats. People wanted to kill the rats but also not get woken up whenever someone shot a rat in the night. The UK was much more urban than the USA so keeping the guns quiet was of a greater concern. I'm sure that there was a concern of an assassination attempt on government officials but the people that owned guns then tended to be people of the wealthy class, and they were not likely to be a threat.

    That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

    --
    I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
  56. Re:"For Gunshots"... by approachingZero+ · · Score: 1

    In all fairness you can use a stripper clip to load the magazine, but the AK requires a magazine to fire more than one round.

    --
    'I don't know what it's called. I just know the sound it makes, when it takes a man's life.' ~ Four Leaf Tayback
  57. Re:Dolts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Part and parcel of the GOP strategy is to identify potential opposition leaders and work to discredit them. They have been working on Bill and Hillary for the past 30 years, and they are just getting started on Bernie and his Wife by digging into the finances of a failed school that she was involved in.

    If you are going to ignore their strategy then you will always be swayed by it. What are the other options? To either abandon all critical thinking like republican supporters have, or get a new candidate every few years so they cannot spread enough lies about them in the election cycle

  58. Re:One way people could mess with this... by sjames · · Score: 1

    A .22 rifle comes in more like 130.

  59. Re: "For Gunshots"... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Sure man, and that's why the legislature of Tennessee had a fit over a Muslim foot bath, oh wait, no, it was a mop sink.

    It's just a bogeyman, another of the things that riles up the base in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Alabama, and the like, fears of the dreaded "Sharia" law while simultaneously lamenting how they can't do things the "Christian" way, as the Constitution intended.

  60. Re: "For Gunshots"... by Rakarra · · Score: 2

    Well, that's you. I've never understood the "solution to every problem is more government" approach you totalitarians love, myself.

    So... no laws, ever? For anyone? At all?

    Because the examples the OP listed about Phoenix, AZ sound as reasonable and "minimal government."

  61. It helped blacks by rsilvergun · · Score: 3, Insightful

    when we took action during the civil rights movement. The point is to get folks to take action, particularly at the polls, by making sure the narrative is steered away from "Everything's fine now and there's no racism or oppression" when nothing could be further from the truth.

    So yeah, it's helps.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:It helped blacks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      We are a better people when all of us are equal

      We are not equal. Look at the physical and mental differences between different ethnicities. No amount of hand waving or virtue signalling will ever change it.

  62. Gunshot Emulator by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

    Is it against the law to play back the sound effect of a gunshot? Perhaps even at high volume?

    Look! It's the Keystone Cops!!

    1. Re:Gunshot Emulator by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 1

      No, but it's probably against the law to willfully and knowingly interfere with police dispatch and what not.

      Remember, most crimes have two elements; mens rea and actus rea. You have to do something naughty, and you have to know that it's naught.

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
  63. Re:"For Gunshots"... by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

    I never said the clips are good for anything else than quick filling of the magazine. Then again,the clips for most WW1 rifles had exactly the same function, the only difference was that the magazines generally weren't detachable.

    --
    "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
  64. This is not surveillance by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

    cops aint going to get there in time, or do shit but mop up.

    Yes I totally agree, that was my point. But wouldn't it be better for them to be able to be much less hesitant moving in because they knew exactly what had happened and if there were still armed suspects on-scnee? It's certainly better for the people who are shot that medics can move in more quickly.

    and surveillance societies, by the government already far too big

    Here again I actually agree with you (well except the part where I suck balls or want anything to do with the corporate state which I am way more against than you are).

    This is not surveillance though. The drones are asleep most of the time, only go out when responding to a specific gunshot location or a 911 request from a citizen where you know there's a problem already and someone needs help. That is not surveillance it's simply quicker response and data flow to units that are going there anyway, to provide more details than gunshot sensors or a caller alone may provide.

    This is a perfect match for drone use because drones really can't be out for long periods anyway so they literally CANNOT be used for classic surveillance like a CCTV can, and are cheap enough you could easily blanket a city with great coverage for very little cost.

    They are also far better for this use because CCTV's simply cannot be looking everywhere or can be easily disabled ahead of time, whereas drones being very mobile are much less prone to being blocked from monitoring the aftermath of a shooting - including cars and/or people leaving the scene.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  65. Not at all useless by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    That would be useless against the kind of criminal that is most problematic right now, the kind that do not care if they get caught because they are on a suicidal mission.

    It would be extremely useful for the kinds of attacks we have seen it cities, with a small number of attackers shooting civilians. You would have a drone in the area super quickly and it could follow any suspect(s) found, but even MORE importantly than that lets police know where attackers are NOT. Lots of people wait for medial care while police clear an area, but using the drones police could know in the minutes (or tens of minutes) it took to arrive that an area was safe to send medical aid and offices into and through.

    You can get a view of the scene if you like but that's not going to solve the problem. What's likely to solve the problem is people able to shoot back...

    Yes I totally agree and that is a great idea, I would also be happier if everyone were armed and also think we'd not see as many attacks, certainly not with the same degree of success...

    But imagine this - what if all of the people in the area could ALSO see this drone footage? They would know if an attacker was on the way to where they were and could find good cover to shoot from. It would prevent people from being caught unawares. Imagine it being like an Amber Alert, only now your phone is pulling up a video feed and map automatically comparing your location to the location of known attackers...

    That last part is probably a pipe dream as the police are super-reluctant to share that kind of data real time, but I think because it would be data about the attackers and not police positions, they could be persuaded.

    The drones could only be up for 30 minutes or so but that's probably enough time to resolve the situation, especially in a world where everyone around the attacker was more fully aware.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  66. Re:15+ years ago I remember it detecting type by pipedwho · · Score: 4, Funny

    Han shot first. Greedo never shot at all.

  67. Re: Fireworks. by KGIII · · Score: 1

    True but the GGP was about .22.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  68. Re: Saved lives? by KGIII · · Score: 1

    They are much quieter with small calibers. They're still not silent. They don't sound anything like they do in the movies. (Yes, I've fired quite a few rounds through a suppressor.)

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  69. Re:Dolts by schleimkeim · · Score: 1

    Trump voters are retarded. Discuss.

    Facts can't be discussed.

  70. Re:"For Gunshots"... by dargndorp · · Score: 2

    Just for the record, wikipedia claims the incident that killed Shannon Smith occured during June, not during New Year celebrations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon's_law_(Arizona)

  71. Re:"For Gunshots"... by dwillden · · Score: 1

    The magazines use clips, not the firearms themselves. Your pictures do not prove the prior poster wrong.

    --
    I'm too lazy to compose a creative sig.
  72. Re: "For Gunshots"... by dougdonovan · · Score: 1

    its a step in the right direction.

  73. Re: "For Gunshots"... by PauloftheWest · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yeah, I've never understood the "laws are useless because criminals break laws" approach. You hear it a lot in the Second Amendment community.

    If you are referring to "when guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns." Well, that is one of those word games that proves itself. What it is really going after is that by outlawing guns, law abiding citizens are not allowed to have guns. If you wade past the extremist (AKA the absolutely no gun regulations crowd) you will find that most people agree to background check as long as it is reasonable. When I took my Concealed Weapons class, even my instructor called "constitutional carry" asinine.

    --
    ~Less think, more do
  74. these should be placed in every city by knope · · Score: 1

    not enough people report gunshots when they're heard, for reasons or not. not enough people can discern a gunshot from a firework like well-made software can (should be able to).

    1. Re:these should be placed in every city by computererds · · Score: 1

      The software is still pretty bad at it. That's what the "sent to California" and the subscription part is about. There are people listening in Newark, CA after the alert is triggered. With people listening the accuracy shoots way up.

      The systems without the subscription have a terrible accuracy rate.

  75. hmmm by bonedonut · · Score: 1

    i just always figured that cellphone masts were being used for this, along with being able to created 3d images of the area within their triangle.

  76. Re: "For Gunshots"... by marcel_in_ca · · Score: 2

    Yeah, I've never understood the "laws are useless because criminals break laws" approach. You hear it a lot in the Second Amendment community.

    The simile I've heard is "if the problem you have is yahoos driving through your town doing 100, reducing the speed limit from 25 to 5 won't solve your problems". The perception (and reality, in my opinion) is that the law abiding are saddled with restrictions ranging from hassles to harassment to criminalization (yes, jail time), while the people doing the shooting/wounding/killing aren't deterred The restrictions are then deemed ineffective, and *more* laws are passed. Lather, rinse repeat. Here in California, it's been stated the the goal is to eliminate "gun culture". What's happening is that the law abiding gun culture is being hounded out of existence, leaving criminal gun culture as remainder

  77. Designed to separate taxpayers from their money by zerofoo · · Score: 1

    This site has been following ShotSpotter tech for a couple of years now:

    http://www.thetruthaboutguns.c...

    Near as I can tell, there doesn't seem to be a huge reduction in gun crime as a result of this technology - mostly due to the fact that many gun crimes are committed with stolen guns (that are ditched after a shooting) and the fact that criminals don't hang around after a shooting waiting for the cops.

    This technology stinks of Redflex and the red light camera fiasco there...

  78. Re:Happens all the time by guruevi · · Score: 1

    No, simple statistics prove it's untrue. ~36% of people in the US are Black/Latino. This means that if "Driving while $COLOR" is an "offense" and unequivocally get pulled over, you would simply have to see nothing but people pulled over. Given a benign traffic stop takes ~15m, there aren't enough cops in the US to enforce those 'unwritten' rules. Even if half of the cops were "racists", there would still be a significant discrepancy in the amount of work those cops do.

    --
    Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
  79. Re: "For Gunshots"... by lgw · · Score: 1

    Sure, I was addressing the poster, and his posting history, not this specific example.

    --
    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  80. Re: "For Gunshots"... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    The simile I've heard is "if the problem you have is yahoos driving through your town doing 100, reducing the speed limit from 25 to 5 won't solve your problems".

    A more apt comparison would be, "Yahoos are driving through your town doing 100, so the only solution is to get rid of all speed limits".

    This is basically the argument from the pro-gun lobby, who by the way, want power to revert to the states except not the power to restrict gun ownership in any way. Federalism for thee, but not for me, in other words.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  81. Re:One way people could mess with this... by Travelsonic · · Score: 1

    I'm not saying it is a good idea, but I am pointing out a potential issue that could arise. Contingencies are something that ought not to be ignored, no matter how trivial.

    --
    If you believe in privacy, and believe you have "nothing to hide" at the same time, you're a goddammed idiot
  82. Re:One way people could mess with this... by Travelsonic · · Score: 1

    Says the one who thinks assuming things about others is actually a logical rebuttal to compensate for the inability to consider the fact that different building densities, and atmospheric conditions affect how a sound is perceived.. I actually have been shooting, at ranges - don't get to do it often, but it is a lot of fun. I go with my brother, he shoots a pistol, I stick to a .22 caliber rifle. I'd have to be literally deaf to not know what a gunshot sounds like. When I did what I did in the story, the sound echoed like crazy, scared the crap out of people (inadvertently, of course) - even this crackhead who was sitting on the steps to the subway, who had previously been cursing off everybody walking near her, shut up. 0_0

    --
    If you believe in privacy, and believe you have "nothing to hide" at the same time, you're a goddammed idiot
  83. Re: "For Gunshots"... by marcel_in_ca · · Score: 1

    The simile I've heard is "if the problem you have is yahoos driving through your town doing 100, reducing the speed limit from 25 to 5 won't solve your problems".

    A more apt comparison would be, "Yahoos are driving through your town doing 100, so the only solution is to get rid of all speed limits".

    You conveniently left out the 2nd half of my argument: the change in laws doesn't reduce the actual murder rate, it only makes new criminals (with victim-less crimes); when the new laws are ineffectual, then *more* laws are passed, making *more* new crimes/criminals.

    This is basically the argument from the pro-gun lobby, who by the way, want power to revert to the states except not the power to restrict gun ownership in any way. Federalism for thee, but not for me, in other words.

    Similarly to the rights in the 1st, 4th and 5th amendment? Why shouldn't those also be subject to varying enforcement in varying states? Ha! Slashdot sig quote: "The solution of this problem is trivial and is left as an exercise for the reader."

  84. Re:One way people could mess with this... by chuckugly · · Score: 1

    A typical gunshot is over 150db, a 9mm pistol runs about 160db. That would be one amazing paper bag. Unbelieveable, actually.

  85. Re:One way people could mess with this... by chuckugly · · Score: 1

    Yeah I wouldn't be shocked if that wouldn't be detected reliably as a gunshot by this system. That's probably OK, essentially no one uses a 22lr long gun in violent crimes. The guns criminals use (pistols) run about 20-30 db higher which doesn't look like much, but 160db is actually 1000x louder than 130db .....

  86. Re: "For Gunshots"... by LunaticTippy · · Score: 1

    If laws are outlawed only outlaws will have laws!

    --
    Man, you really need that seminar!
  87. Re: "For Gunshots"... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    the change in laws doesn't reduce the actual murder rate

    The six states with the lowest rates of gun-related death are Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Jersey, which all have relatively strict gun control laws.

    Yes, a change in laws does reduce gun deaths.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  88. Re:You act as you have never... by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

    Why to double down on _wrong_.

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  89. Re: "For Gunshots"... by computererds · · Score: 1

    Banning what? Celebratory gun firing? Do you think it's "big government" to ban people shooting into the air in populated areas? Who are you fighting? No one is coming to get your guns here pal. They're only asking for them to be used responsibly.

  90. Re:Fireworks. by TechnoJoe · · Score: 1

    That's why I defend my 2nd amendment right to silencers. When I have to shoot someone in self-defense, I don't want Big Brother picking up the supersonic double-crack from my pistol. I already "solved the problem." I'd rather Big Brother doesn't stick his nose in my business trying to double-check my work.

  91. Re:Is it surveillance? Yes. by computererds · · Score: 1

    Additionally, these microphones also pick up other sounds, like car sounds, which have been used as evidence too. They also pick up conversations.

    Could you source that info? I'm not saying they can't, but it seems unlikely that microphones on poles and building tops that are designed to be triggered by 140+db gunshots, but not by 120db thunder are being used to record even loud 70db conversations.

    Not to mention, if they are talking that loud, they should expect people to overhear.

  92. Re:One way people could mess with this... by computererds · · Score: 1

    HA! Thanks for that. :D

  93. Re:2 step by computererds · · Score: 1

    There are mostly false positives. The new system with the high subscription cost is for humans to listen and confirm if it is gunfire. It brings the accuracy way up. I can't site how much. I'm still looking for that information. The unmonitored accuracy was atrocious.

  94. Re:"For Gunshots"... by approachingZero+ · · Score: 1

    Solid point

    --
    'I don't know what it's called. I just know the sound it makes, when it takes a man's life.' ~ Four Leaf Tayback
  95. Re:Showing Up is Not Good Enough by computererds · · Score: 1

    If you read the book to which the article you linked is citing, you'd know that isn't accurate. The book is about vague laws and overreaching LOEs and prosecutors.

    It would be accurate to say: The only reason you aren't in jail is because the police aren't targeting *you*.

  96. Re:"For Gunshots"... by amxcoder · · Score: 1

    You cannot put that in the rifle and fire it, so your example is flawed. Sure, you can use a "clip" to help speed load a magazine, but you must remove the clip from the magazine before attaching the magazine to the rifle for shooting. A true "clip" is used in the firearm while shooting, such as that used on WWII M1 Garand's. Where the clip was loaded into the rifle, and when the last shot was fired, the clip was ejected out. Otherwise, the use a "Clip" in the form that you showed, is just a version of a speed-loader for a box magazine. The rifles mentioned however fire from a box magazine sans any "clips".

  97. Re: "For Gunshots"... by dcw3 · · Score: 1

    His statement didn't go anywhere near the extreme that you're stating. There's a big difference between anarchy and minimal government.

    --
    Just another day in Paradise