Gunfire Detection Technology calls the cops when nobody else does
Watch this TV news piece. It's about a man rushed to the hospital overnight following a shooting in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood. In this case, police said that ShotSpotter gunfire detection technology alerted them to the shooting and led them to find the seriously injured victim.
Police have many tools in their public protection toolbox. For example, as the first responder’s to medical emergencies they have the training and supplies to immediately provide life-saving assistance until the injured parties can receive more advanced medical treatment. As criminal investigators, they have the training and tools to find, collect, and analyze evidence and information to identify criminals, locate and apprehend them.
All of this they can do - and in fact - they do it every day.
One thing that police can’t do is respond to emergencies that they are unaware of. If the emergency or crime doesn’t happen in their presence, police must rely on someone or something else to tell them when and where they are needed.
In the case of crimes involving the use of firearms, gunfire detection technology can call the police when nobody else does and point them to the exact location. Because of the nature of sound and the ways in which it can travel, technology can be more accurate than the human ear in terms of identifying the source of the sound and its location.
