Does Predictive Policing Technology Reduce Gun-Related Crime?
Newsy
A predictive policing technology called ShotSpotter is helping detect shootings, but there are still questions about its effectiveness.
ShotSpotter is a predictive policing technology that can detect the location of a gunshot. Now it’s being rapidly adopted by police departments across the U.S. to help curb gun-related violence and crime. The question, however, is how effective that technology is.
It works like this: When a loud bang goes off near a ShotSpotter location, its acoustic sensors use artificial intelligence and triangulation to determine whether the sound was indeed a gunshot and where it may have come from. If the system determines the noise was from a firearm, it will send the data to a human reviewer. If that person signs off on it, an alert will be pushed to a police officer. ShotSpotter says the entire process takes less than a minute.
The company says its technology has led to a 60% reduction in homicides in West Palm Beach, Florida, a 55% decrease in homicides in Omaha, Nebraska and a nearly 50% decrease of shootings in Cincinnati, Ohio.
