ShotSpotter

ShotSpotter is an acoustic gunshot detection system manufactured by US-based company SoundThinking (named ShotSpotter until April 2023)

Consisting of microphones, sensors, algorithms and human reviewers, the system alerts police to potential gunfire.

SoundThinking claims 97 percent accuracy and 0.5 percent false positive rates across its ShotSpotter customers, and has been used by multiple municipal authorities, police departments and school districts across the US since 1997. 

It has also been used as evidence in legal trials.

Gunfire locator

A gunfire locator or gunshot detection system is a system that detects and conveys the location of gunfire or other weapon fire using acoustic, vibration, optical, or potentially other types of sensors, as well as a combination of such sensors.

Source: Wikipedia 🔗

System 🤖

Reviews 🗣️

Transparency and accountability 🙈

Despite being mostly used for public safety, ShotSpotter has been criticised for poor transparency across multiple dimensions, leading to questions about its effectiveness and to accusations of misleading marketing and poor accountability.

Risks and harms 🛑

ShotSpotter has proved controversial, with concerns expressed about its accuracy, reliability and effectiveness, and the risks it is seen to pose to human rights and civil liberties and community relations through surveillance and over-policing.

SoundThinking has also been accused of misleading marketing and wasting police time and resources.

Page info
Type: System
Published: May 2022
Last updated: December 2024