New technology can pinpoint within a few feet of where shots are fired

[beeenbag]

http://ktla.com/2013/12/31/new-technology-targets-gun-users-on-new-years-eve/#axzz2pCPvWdCb

The Los Angeles police and sheriff’s departments are taking part in a gunfire reduction campaign aimed to warn people about what has become a deadly New Year’s Eve tradition of indiscriminately firing guns into the air.


File photo (Credit: RONg/flickr via Creative Commons)

“This campaign is designed to help reduce incidents of indiscriminate gunfire that, while on the decline, has continued to be a deadly tradition in our County and in our City,” the Los Angeles Police Department stated in a news release.

An advanced piece of technology, called the ShotSpotter, will be deployed in the Century and Compton station areas, according to the release.

The ShotSpotter can pinpoint gunfire within a few feet of where shots were fired, police said.

Those arrested for shooting a gun will be prosecuted to the fullest extend of the law, authorities said.

Discharging a firearm into the air is punishable by one year in state prison, a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department stated.

Authorities also strongly discouraged the public from playing with toy replica guns that resemble real weapons.



Read more: http://ktla.com/2013/12/31/new-technology-targets-gun-users-on-new-years-eve/#ixzz2pCQfEVWR

Thought this was an interesting concept I'd share.

 

[easy]

London England has had similar technology in place for years. Just recently being looked at by law enforcement and anti-2a types here in the US.

 

[Speedo66]

NYC passed on it.

From a NY Times article: "In May, Mr. Bratton joined the board of ShotSpotter, a private company. The company lobbied the city in 2009 and the Police Department tested its technology the next year, but found too many false positives."

 

[streak]

Colleagues of mine in South Africa have been using Shotspotter to catch Rhino poachers in the act. I have the application on my PC and have had a live demo.Very impressive indeed.

 

[MErl]

Takes a whole bunch of sensors though, especially in an urban area with lots of reflected sounds.

Narrowing down to a block is one thing, "A few feet" is something completely different.

 

[kcofohio]

I believe the military has used it for a while, in locating snipers. And yes, you need enough sensors to triangulate the location.

 

[rodregier]

Probably works fairly well in open terrain, not so much in the concrete canyons...

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Well, I guess that could be used against anyone tracking shots, as it would bring new targets to that location. All the original shooter would have to do is move and target his old location. That is what you might do even when a whole platoon is after you.

 

[jim243]

You need three sensors to pin point, can be done with two sensors, but you will get two points of reference for the shot. It measures the distance from each sensor and gives the distance from each. Draw a circle with the distance from each sensor and where they intersect is where the shot came from. Glass structures are the worst to try and triangulate from because of reflections off the glass specially if the have uneven (non-90 degree) angles.


Jim

 

[NukemJim]

Looked into this technology a few years ago.

There appears to be two different types, the first uses the noise made by a supersonic projectile great for rifles, some pistols, good specificity and accurate location estimation, the second uses the muzzle blast works for all handguns and rifles but has poor specificity i.e. many false positives and not as good for location accuracy.

This information was several years ago and open source material thing could have changed by now.

NukemJim

 

[ChaoSS]

I think a system like that is a bit worthless in most of the neighborhoods that need it the most. My neighborhood tends to have gun shots that must be coming from no less than half of the houses around me. Too many positives, and no one is going to confess to anything.

I'd like to see a few unmarked cars sitting in some strategically placed locations filled with high quality night vision cameras, cameras good enough to see who is doing the shooting, and hit the people who are doing it with fines large enough to help cover the cost of the operation.

 

[ChaoSS]

Here's what a shotspotter system would have to contend with in my neighborhood....





Second one catches the end of a string of automatic fire.

This was going on for close to half an hour. Cops never responded.

 

[Leanwolf]

That's a lot of lead flying around, ChaoSS. Where do you live??

L.W.

 

[Havok7416]

Chaos, I know the feeling. I listened to about the same thing in OKC for well over 2 hours New Year's Eve. No response from the police hear either.

 

[ChaoSS]

That's a lot of lead flying around, ChaoSS. Where do you live??

L.W.

California's Central Valley, in a small town full of immigrants and ag workers. (read, gang bangers and junkies)

 

[TRX]

Uh. They installed early versions of a similar system in Oakland and Detroit in the late 1980s.

"It's like deja vu all over again."

 

[Vol46]

Seems like resources could be better used tracking down bad guys. If firing weapons into the air were a really significant hazard, half the people in the Middle East would be dead after every major holiday

 

[kcofohio]

These cities that put the system in place, will they do it in neighborhoods that are the most violent? And will the police show up in time. Many big cities have cut their police force budgets and places like Detroit have announced that certain areas won't be patrolled.
Somebody is going to make monry off of this. But of what good will it be? Time will tell.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Probably works fairly well in open terrain, not so much in the concrete canyons...

That would be my guess as well. Triangulating a loud noise in the middle of a field wouldn't be much of a task for modern technology, but when you start getting all the sharp noises and odd sound reflections in a city, these things likely go haywire.

 

[buck460XVR]

I'm guessing that telling folks on T.V. and thru other media, that there's a way to pinpoint where a gunshot originates will deter a certain percentage of folks regardless if the technology is really there or not. Much like the Drunk Driving commercials on T.V.

 

[AethelstanAegen]

If firing weapons into the air were a really significant hazard, half the people in the Middle East would be dead after every major holiday

I do hope you're kidding. It is a significant hazard, especially in cities, and people are killed by it (including in the Middle East). It's just plain stupid and irresponsible to fire into the air like that.