Tuesday, October 15, 2013

How to tell when police have lost public support.

Police in Florida towns using ShotSpotter to find shootings because people don't report them.

More than 70 cities, including several in South Florida, have purchased technology called ShotSpotter to instantly alert police to the sound of gunfire.

ShotSpotter uses microphones and motion sensors placed on light poles and buildings to pick up on gunshots and other loud sounds and report the exact location to police. The California-based company that markets the service says it is specially engineered to hear gunfire, and won't pick up conversations unless they're at a place where a shooting is in progress.

Police say the technology can be especially valuable in high-crime areas where residents don't call police to report gunfire.


The Miami Herald article is playing the NSA Big Brother angle on this story, but this quote here is a lot more chilling to me:

[Miami Gardens Deputy Police Chief Paul] Miller said the city's staff has deemed the technology "cost-effective" and he believes it aids the police in finding crime scenes when residents hear the gunshots, but don't call the police.

"When we realized incidents were going unreported because people were apathetic, or had developed malaise, we knew we had to do something to combat that," said Miller.

Yeah. "Malaise" is what they call it when somebody starts a gunfight right in front of your house, and you figure calling the cops is a bigger problem than the gunfight. Miami Gardens will be spending $400,000 PER YEAR on this system, so must be there's a whole bunch of "malaise" going around.

This is why I vacation in Arizona instead of Florida my friends. Dirtbags don't start gunfights in the street in AZ much. Too dangerous.

The Phantom

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