[sudo-discuss] shotspotter will be discontinued

Jake jake at spaz.org
Fri Mar 14 15:23:41 PDT 2014


what do people think of the shotspotter system installed in oakland?

it's a network of microphones on telephone poles, each with a GPS (for 
a precise clock) and a network connection.  When a gunshot-like sound is 
detected, they send the sound and its precise timing to a central server 
that determines the location of the shot, and tells the police to go 
there.

some people have expressed concern that the microphones are used to spy on 
people, but it would be impossible to hear a conversation from the top of 
a telephone pole that wasnt already loud enough to be heard inside nearby 
houses (or the phone in your pocket).

apparently the city pays $264,000 per year to keep shotspotter going.  I 
think sudoroom people could do it for much less if they thought it was a 
useful thing.  They would be discontinuing it to save money, or perhaps to 
avoid having to send cops to do actual work once in a while...

i mean.. sending police toward the gunfire?  sounds like a good idea...

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Oakland-cops-aim-to-scrap-gunfire-detecting-5316060.php



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