In the middle of the sad Washington Post story about a landscaper slain in SE, is this tantalizing paragraph:
Police received the first report of the shooting from new technology that recognizes the sound of gunfire. A device known as the “ShotSpotter” recently was installed in the area and helped police pinpoint the location of the shooting.
What might “Shot Spotter” be? And where is this new citizen surveillance tool deployed in Washington, DC?
From the ShotSpotter website:
The ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System uses the principle of acoustic triangulation to locate gunfire across wide areas. [..]ShotSpotter sensors detect gunfire at a range of one to two miles away from our sensors, and our systems have been shown to be accurate to within 25 meters over one to two mile ranges.
From the MPD Homicide Reduction Strategy:
ShotSpotter: The FBI has begun a pilot program to install Shot Spotter sensors in the highest crime areas of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh MPD Districts. These sensors detect gunshots fired, triangulating the location of the shots and immediately alert the FBI and the MPD that shots have been fired at a specific location
So kids, we now have yet another way for Big Brother to keep tabs on us. First it was protester CCTV, then surveillance camera gentrification, and now its audio surveillance for police action!
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
