Saginaw, Michigan has been using the shotspotter for years. It's a huge joke in the community. It doesn't even work most of the time.
Allegedly there are plenty of ex-police chiefs and such involved with this company, and government grants pay for the installation of the product. It lets authorities know, i n theory, when and where gunshots occur. That's it.
It's not tied into some Hollywood satellite video system where two seconds after a gun is fired, the aftermath and fleeing suspects are caught on tape. It doesn't even produce any evidence that can be used in court.
It is disturbing that a city of 50,000 would need something like this.
In any case, all the advocates of the system claim is that it "lets you know when and where a gunshot occurs". That's it. I see no one claiming more, yet can appreciate how knowledge when and where a gunshot occurs can be useful to law enforcement.
Allegedly there are plenty of ex-police chiefs and such involved with this company, and government grants pay for the installation of the product. It lets authorities know, i n theory, when and where gunshots occur. That's it.
It's not tied into some Hollywood satellite video system where two seconds after a gun is fired, the aftermath and fleeing suspects are caught on tape. It doesn't even produce any evidence that can be used in court.