Renegen on 8/1/2007 at 03:44
But they said the most dangerous neighborhoods would have the devices. They'll have gunshots there every single night, in every direction, so much for valuable information.
Malygris on 8/1/2007 at 04:54
Quote Posted by The Boston Globe
ShotSpotter technology
I stopped reading here, but I still came away satisfied.
The Alchemist on 8/1/2007 at 05:02
Quote Posted by Renegen
But they said the most dangerous neighborhoods would have the devices.
They'll have gunshots there every single night, in every direction, so much for valuable information.
What on earth are you basing that on. :( And even if it were remotely true that there are
many gunshots every night, the system is going to give them more accurate information than the people 5 blocks away that call in said imaginary ceaseless urban warfare, so how is that not helpful? Are you implying they ignore most of the gun shot cases because there are just too many?
Renegen on 8/1/2007 at 05:53
Yes, it goes back to the birds-bombers comment. I don't know too much about Boston but there are neighborhoods in NY, Detroit, LA where you have gunshots every single night, I'm basing it mostly on what I heard through the years.
But just like those crime cameras, they hopefully act as deterrents than as true crime fighters.
The Alchemist on 8/1/2007 at 06:08
Quote Posted by Renegen
Yes, it goes back to the birds-bombers comment. I don't know too much about Boston but there are neighborhoods in NY, Detroit, LA where you have gunshots every single night, I'm basing it mostly on what I heard through the years.
But just like those crime cameras, they hopefully act as deterrents than as true crime fighters.
I dont see how having gunshots every night makes this system less or just as unhelpful as the phone calls they receive about said gunshots. Let me articulate the differences:
Gun shots all night, neighbors from all over who hear them from up to several blocks away call in. Most likely 2-3 calls per gunshot, with conflicting information about where the gunshot came from because well people obviously wont know what direction the sound came from or how close it was.
Vesus
Gunshots all night, computer system giving them direction and distances per so that they know what gunshots are related, and in what general area they came from. I'm not going to pretend I know how accurate the system is but it's obviously far more accurate than scared neighbors going "OMG I HURD SHOTS RITE IN MY BACKYARD I SWEAR".
It's not as though these shots go uninvestigated. And having a powerful tool to pinpoint them is obviously going to make their jobs easier. I'm not sure if it's worth the pricetag though, they could probably hire more patrolling officers for that much, but arguing that this system doesn't help at all just isn't right.
theBlackman on 8/1/2007 at 11:23
I seem to recall that tests on some of the systems have been accurate enough to place the shooter's location within 10 feet.
SlyFoxx on 8/1/2007 at 16:03
Quote:
tBM.....been accurate enough to place the shooter's location within 10 feet.
I heard the same thing this morning on Fox. They were talking with an expert on the system. They said the system promts 911 operators in about 5seconds with the location, number of shots fired and even the type of weapon.
The price tag does not seem all that high to me considering what the law enforcement budget for a city that large must be. 1.5 million....I doubt the city could hire a dozen more cops for that price.
Renegen on 8/1/2007 at 16:59
Like you said Alchemist they'll be able to have more information about the location of a call and when or where the shot took place. That won't eliminate unreported shootings, the number of policemen will be the same. They will only respond to the same calls as before, or will need to be very selective, which proves difficult. Having ears on the scene of the crime does sure help with evidence and keeping the cops more informed.
The Alchemist on 8/1/2007 at 17:09
Quote Posted by Renegen
Like you said Alchemist they'll be able to have more information about the location of a call and when or where the shot took place. That won't eliminate unreported shootings, the number of policemen will be the same. They will only respond to the same calls as before, or will need to be very selective, which proves difficult. Having ears on the scene of the crime does sure help with evidence and keeping the cops more informed.
Not the location of a call....the location of a shooting. Are you listening? It records gunshots, not calls. And there won't be unreported shootings, because the system will catch them all and identify the location of them all. Sure, there might be a shortage of cops to cover all of the shootings, but that's baseless as that wasn't the issue to begin with. And sure, a shot my not be called in but if they have the location they can ask around. They have a concrete location to investigate. And forensic agents have tools to find shells and what not. Besides if there's a shooting they're going to find a victim since they have a location, or at least a trail of blood. :rolleyes: I don't understand why I have to explain this. The system is meant to improve the responce time and accuracy of the cops, not to prevent some sort of police understaffing. You're arguing for the sake of arguing, aren't ya? :cool:
Oh yeah also, I'll add that the article already mentions that several other city are using these systems. It's not exactly just some zany tech those crazy Bostoneers are coming up with.
Renegen on 8/1/2007 at 18:56
Yeah I wrote it wrong, of course the location of the incident. I assumed the call was next to the incident, like the call coming from the house and the shooting from the backyard.
It improves response time and gives more evidence..yes. Those incidents that go unnoticed by the police will not suddenly have investigations if there's shortages of cops, and just shootings by themselves without the call or body do little. For $1.5m is the machine worth it? How many criminals in the neighborhood will it now be able to prosecute or catch that they couldn't before? Because the machine like we established is not a magical crime solver.
