Desertdog
Member
My thoughts -The gunshot came from over there. Where the h***s the cops.?
OAKLAND CA: Councilman wants to try gunshot-locator system
Christopher Heredia, Chronicle Staff Writer
http://www.cnsnews.com/welcome.asp
An Oakland councilman, frustrated by rampant gunfire and killings in his district, has dipped into his discretionary fund to pay $10,000 to test a gunfire detection system that has been credited in some cities with reducing gunfire and bloodshed.
Police and city leaders, including Councilman Larry Reid, are grappling with a spike in homicides that some have deemed a crisis. Officials said they are looking to the technology, which uses GPS equipped sensors, to make policing Oakland more efficient and possibly even save lives.
Reid is so impressed by the possibility, and so eager to curb violence in his East Oakland district and elsewhere, that he offered to bankroll a test drive that he'd like to see running as quickly as possible.
"I'll pay for a pilot in my district," Reid told the city's public safety committee Tuesday night.
Oakland has recorded 39 homicides so far this year, up from 16 at this time last year. Gunfire reports in the first three months of this year have climbed 53 percent compared with the same period last year, police said.
Police Chief Wayne Tucker said the ShotSpotter technology, which has been tested in cities across the country, is not meant to replace the ears and eyes of police officers, nor of citizens who call to report gunfire. Rather, it will make detecting and locating gunfire more accurate.
Tucker said the technology might also prevent incidents where gunshot victims lay bleeding or dead for hours -- as has happened at least once this year -- before they are found. It also might improve the department's chances of apprehending the shooters.
"If it's well publicized, it may very well increase our response times to shootings," he said, adding that the technology also could deter dangerous celebratory gunfire on holidays. "When we're relying on people to report gunfire, we often get conflicting information about the actual location."
The birdhouse-size microphones, which are usually placed on buildings, telephone poles or police vehicles can pinpoint the origin of a gunshot a mile away within seconds and to within 20 to 30 feet of where it was fired.
The ShotSpotter, which is manufactured by a company in Santa Clara, can also distinguish between a car backfire, fireworks and gunshots, but does not pick up human voices or conversations, said company Chief Executive Officer James Beldock. That means police could better prioritize responding to calls about suspected gunfire, Tucker said.
Tucker said buying the top-shelf system, which would cover eight square miles of Oakland at a cost exceeding $500,000, will not be a priority this year but said he would consider purchasing a smaller version for specific neighborhoods or leasing the system.
Beldock said he would work with the city to identify federal grants for the technology, if necessary. He said installing the detectors costs less than investigating and prosecuting a homicide -- not to mention the psychological toll on a community.
"The reality is in order to solve a hard problem you have to spend money," Beldock said.
But Tucker said he has higher budget priorities, such as improving the department's DNA and fingerprint-evidence collection capabilities.
Other police departments that have tried the technology give it mixed reviews.
In Los Angeles County, gunshot detection systems were credited with reducing gunfire by 60 percent, but the $177,000 system broke down several months ago, frustrating law enforcement officials.
"When it's working, it does make our streets safer," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Commander Sid Hale, who heads the department's technology exploration project. "The results have been mixed."
Hale said ShotSpotter changed hands and the new owners are working diligently to replace landline wiring with wireless technology.
"We have high hopes for it in the sense that the company since changing hands has been responsive," Hale said, adding that the county first bought the technology in 1999. "I'm not going to talk it up till you show it to me. We were at a point where I'd written a memo to cut our losses and throw it away, but things have changed and the company has greatly improved their responsiveness and customer service."
Hale said the technology has enabled officers to learn in eight seconds the origin of gunfire within 25 feet of a muzzle blast and pinpoint the location on a map, down to "near the tree at the front of the property line."
"Before we had this, no one was calling us about gunfire in high-crime areas," Hale said. "It shocked us, but we learned they had become numbed to our inability to stop it."
E-mail Christopher Heredia at [email protected].
OAKLAND CA: Councilman wants to try gunshot-locator system
Christopher Heredia, Chronicle Staff Writer
http://www.cnsnews.com/welcome.asp
An Oakland councilman, frustrated by rampant gunfire and killings in his district, has dipped into his discretionary fund to pay $10,000 to test a gunfire detection system that has been credited in some cities with reducing gunfire and bloodshed.
Police and city leaders, including Councilman Larry Reid, are grappling with a spike in homicides that some have deemed a crisis. Officials said they are looking to the technology, which uses GPS equipped sensors, to make policing Oakland more efficient and possibly even save lives.
Reid is so impressed by the possibility, and so eager to curb violence in his East Oakland district and elsewhere, that he offered to bankroll a test drive that he'd like to see running as quickly as possible.
"I'll pay for a pilot in my district," Reid told the city's public safety committee Tuesday night.
Oakland has recorded 39 homicides so far this year, up from 16 at this time last year. Gunfire reports in the first three months of this year have climbed 53 percent compared with the same period last year, police said.
Police Chief Wayne Tucker said the ShotSpotter technology, which has been tested in cities across the country, is not meant to replace the ears and eyes of police officers, nor of citizens who call to report gunfire. Rather, it will make detecting and locating gunfire more accurate.
Tucker said the technology might also prevent incidents where gunshot victims lay bleeding or dead for hours -- as has happened at least once this year -- before they are found. It also might improve the department's chances of apprehending the shooters.
"If it's well publicized, it may very well increase our response times to shootings," he said, adding that the technology also could deter dangerous celebratory gunfire on holidays. "When we're relying on people to report gunfire, we often get conflicting information about the actual location."
The birdhouse-size microphones, which are usually placed on buildings, telephone poles or police vehicles can pinpoint the origin of a gunshot a mile away within seconds and to within 20 to 30 feet of where it was fired.
The ShotSpotter, which is manufactured by a company in Santa Clara, can also distinguish between a car backfire, fireworks and gunshots, but does not pick up human voices or conversations, said company Chief Executive Officer James Beldock. That means police could better prioritize responding to calls about suspected gunfire, Tucker said.
Tucker said buying the top-shelf system, which would cover eight square miles of Oakland at a cost exceeding $500,000, will not be a priority this year but said he would consider purchasing a smaller version for specific neighborhoods or leasing the system.
Beldock said he would work with the city to identify federal grants for the technology, if necessary. He said installing the detectors costs less than investigating and prosecuting a homicide -- not to mention the psychological toll on a community.
"The reality is in order to solve a hard problem you have to spend money," Beldock said.
But Tucker said he has higher budget priorities, such as improving the department's DNA and fingerprint-evidence collection capabilities.
Other police departments that have tried the technology give it mixed reviews.
In Los Angeles County, gunshot detection systems were credited with reducing gunfire by 60 percent, but the $177,000 system broke down several months ago, frustrating law enforcement officials.
"When it's working, it does make our streets safer," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Commander Sid Hale, who heads the department's technology exploration project. "The results have been mixed."
Hale said ShotSpotter changed hands and the new owners are working diligently to replace landline wiring with wireless technology.
"We have high hopes for it in the sense that the company since changing hands has been responsive," Hale said, adding that the county first bought the technology in 1999. "I'm not going to talk it up till you show it to me. We were at a point where I'd written a memo to cut our losses and throw it away, but things have changed and the company has greatly improved their responsiveness and customer service."
Hale said the technology has enabled officers to learn in eight seconds the origin of gunfire within 25 feet of a muzzle blast and pinpoint the location on a map, down to "near the tree at the front of the property line."
"Before we had this, no one was calling us about gunfire in high-crime areas," Hale said. "It shocked us, but we learned they had become numbed to our inability to stop it."
E-mail Christopher Heredia at [email protected].
Is that what you Christian types are talking about when you mention signs of the coming Apocalypse? 