But a confidential ShotSpotter document obtained by The Associated Press outlines something the company doesn’t always tout about its “precision policing system” — that human employees can quickly overrule and reverse the algorithm’s determinations, and are given broad discretion to decide if a sound is a gunshot, fireworks, thunder or something else.
“Our data, based on the review of millions of incidents, proves that human review adds value, accuracy and consistency to a review process that our customers—and many gunshot victims—depend on,” said Tom Chittum, the company’s vice president of analytics and forensic services. Experts say such guidance under tight time pressure could encourage ShotSpotter reviewers to err in favor of categorizing a sound as a gunshot, even if some evidence for it falls short, potentially boosting the numbers of false positives.
ShotSpotter installed its first sensors in Redwood City, California, in 1996, and for years relied solely on local 911 dispatchers and police to review each potential gunshot until adding its own human reviewers in 2011.
What could go wrong?
“Can”, that doesn’t mean they do
We covered this exact thing on the pod
That’s because shotspotter is a fraudulent enterprise focused on delivering what the customer wants. Cops want gunshots, they get “gunshots”.
So, it’s a con sold to the city. Thanks.
A waste of tax payer money. Should never be allowed to be used as evidence as it is corrupt
What the heck ... Where's all these microphones being set up? On street lights?
Yee it's a racist fraud, and has been v lucrative
It wasn't a gun shot, it was Eric Swallwell's butt after Taco Tuesday