Gun Enforcement Through Gunshot Detection Technology
Democratic Leadership Council
DLC | Model Initiatives
June 30, 2008 - During the 1990s, Boston's Operation CeaseFire demonstrated phenomenal success in reducing youth gun violence. By tracing all guns used in crimes to their source, local, state, and federal law enforcement authorities were able to pinpoint many of the individuals -- and gangs -- behind the city's epidemic of youth gun violence. They then served them with a single, clear message: "We know who you are. We're all working together now, and we won't tolerate any gun crimes. If we catch you with a gun, we'll come after you with the full force of the law, and you'll do serious time in federal prison."
During the current decade, law-enforcement officials have begun using new technology to determine where and when gun violence may be taking place. In 2001, under the lead of Mayor Joe Riley and former Police Chief Reuben Greenberg, Charleston, S.C., launched Project CeaseFire, its own comprehensive gun enforcement initiative. In addition to its other provisions, this program used a then-novel technology to identify the location of gunshots. More recently, the same sort of system was set up in Chicago, where gunshot detectors were located in 80 gang-ridden neighborhoods.
"It's a wonderful new tool and the criminal element should be worried."
-- Mayor Joe Riley, Charleston, S.C.
Gunshot-detection technology relies on acoustic sensors deployed in public places (such as telephone poles) and a "triangulation" system to narrow down the possible location of the shots. When the sensors detect a gunshot, a transmitter sends that information to the police department. The gunshot's location appears on a computer map, and within seconds a police dispatcher can send a unit to respond. If there is any question about verifying the gunshot, a six-second recording of it is available for the police to review.
This technology, known as ShotSpotter, is not foolproof, but it has become more reliable. The real promise of these systems lies not just in a quicker police response; but in the possibility that they can help authorities develop and implement strategies for reducing gun crimes in targeted areas. Through the use of these systems, local police can document and learn more about the patterns of gunfire in high-crime areas. (Perhaps not surprisingly, one of the first things they learn is that many more gunshots occur in these neighborhoods than are reported to the police.) State and local prosecutors can use the information from gunshot detection systems as evidence of when and where shootings took place, making it easier for them to make prosecutions stick.
Erin Lopez |
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