DHS Adds To The World Of Shot-Spotting Tech, Claims System Is So Foolproof It Can Be Run By One Person

(Mis)Uses of Technology

from the new-ways-to-fail,-but-portable! dept

Shot-spotting tech is notoriously unreliable. The industry leader, ShotSpotter, continues to claim it’s helping solve gun crime even as many law enforcement customers shift from “current” to “former.”

In Newark, New Jersey, three-quarters of “gunshots” “detected” by ShotSpotter were false positives. In another city, the failure rate wasn’t quite as spectacular, but it was little better than a coin flip.

Out of Fall River’s 51 ShotSpotter activations in 2017, 21 have been false alarms, a 41 percent error rate. The sensors often report loud noises such as car backfires and fireworks as gunshots.

The city of San Diego, California terminated its contract with ShotSpotter after complaints from residents. It also saw little reason in spending more than a million a year on tech that produced false positives more than 10% of the time and had only led to two arrests in four years.

With all this good news about reliability and accuracy (and that’s just about the market leader), one might reasonably wonder why the DHS has decided to get into the shot-spotting business. A sense of wonderment is always welcome, but it should not be confused with what this DHS press release provokes, which is closer to “concerned bemusement.”

A new portable Gunshot Detection System can provide critical information about outdoor shooting incidents almost instantaneously to first responders. The system, called SDS Outdoor, was developed in collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and Shooter Detection Systems (SDS) of Rowley, MA.

“Many U.S. gunshot detection technologies are not easily deployed in the field or at temporary locations,” said Dr. Dimitri Kusnezov, DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology. “This new system can be moved by one or two officers without the need for technicians to transport and set up. This mobile capability will help responders approach gun violence incidents with greater awareness, reducing response times and increasing responder safety.”

The DHS wants to keep an eye on areas gunshot detecting mics aren’t currently located. Apparently, local law enforcement can ask the DHS to provide the tech (and possibly operators) when handling things like live events that may not be hosted in range of their current detection systems.

The DHS has taken existing tech and had it modified, supposedly to reduce the number of false positives the devices tend to produce.

The portable system is an enhancement to the current commercial, off-the-shelf Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System. SDS Outdoor uses two factors—the sound and flash of the gunshot—to detect and validate each gunshot, drastically reducing false positives. Most other systems rely principally on sound, which can have higher false positive rates. Moreover, SDS Outdoor can be deployed for temporary events in locations where infrastructure support is not available, such as open-field concerts or pop-up rallies.

SDS (Shooter Detection Systems) also provides indoor options. The company also produces the “Guardian Active Shooter Detection” systems now deployed in some US schools. Like ShotSpotter, SDS claims its systems produce “near zero false alerts.” ShotSpotter’s accuracy claims are as inaccurate as its products. It’s hard to imagine SDS is doing any better. However, the addition of flash detection may reduce false positives, especially if the two (sound/light) need to be linked before a shot detection can be reported. If the two detection systems are independent, it seems likely to produce double the level of false positives, especially during daylight events when bright flashes of reflected sunlight are common.

The DHS touts the simplicity of the set-up and the system’s ease of use, which requires only a single officer to monitor gunshot detections. While working smarter remains preferable to working harder, there’s something to be said for having experts in the field monitor suspected gunshots, rather than just whoever happens to be on-duty at the time. Even ShotSpotter’s employees — supposedly just brimming with training and expertise — blow judgment calls and alter reports to favor law enforcement narratives/theories.

While it is good to see the DHS take an interest in limiting the damage done by active shooters, the solution is probably not half-baked tech run by novices and oversold by government officials and tech company reps. Some may say it’s better than nothing, but when false positives start prompting police violence and/or lead to false arrests, doing nothing might be the better option.

Filed Under: dhs, false positives, gunshot detection, sds outdoor
Companies: shooter detection systems, shotspoter