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Glendale, AZ - a man is apprehended and put behind bars after detectives say he fired more than 80 rounds from two different pistols in a matter of weeks.
Minneapolis, MN - Police arrest a 19-year-old man and 2 accomplices after he sprayed a street and nearby houses with bullets following a drug deal gone bad.
Brooklyn, NY - A 26-year-old man is shot multiple times while sitting in the passenger seat of his white Nissan Altima. Police rush to the scene and evacuate him to the nearest hospital, where he is unfortunately pronounced dead.
These three incidents of gun violence from across the country share a unique thread- in all three cases, the SoundThinking (formerly ShotSpotter) gunfire detection system alerted the police department to a violent crime in progress, bringing them to the scene more rapidly than they would have otherwise managed.
In this article, we will explain what gunfire detection systems are, how they work, and how they can provide exponentially greater value when they are part of a fully integrated real-time crime center.
What are gunfire detection systems?
A gunfire locator or gunshot detection system detects and conveys the location of gunfire using acoustic and/or optical sensors. These systems are being increasingly used by law enforcement and security services to rapidly identify the source and direction of gunfire, and potentially even the type of weapon fired.
Most systems consist of an array of microphones and sensors mounted in various locations, that send an alert to a central command post when gunfire is detected. The alert is usually displayed on a map, including the address and coordinates of the incident, enabling the rapid dispatch of police officers to the scene.
Gunshot detection systems manufactured by companies like SoundThinking and Shooter Detection Systems have been increasingly installed in high-crime urban areas since the mid-1990s by a growing list of cities and municipalities. Federal and homeland security agencies have also embraced gunshot detection systems, most notably used by the FBI to help solve the Ohio Sniper attacks in 2003-2004.
How effective are gunfire detection systems?
Gunfire detection systems are increasingly being installed in high-crime areas to generate rapid alerts for the police department’s communications and dispatch center.
The reporting of urban gunfire via 911 calls can be as low as 25% (Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery: December 2019 - Volume 87- Issue 6 - p 1253-1259) which means that law enforcement agencies tend to struggle with timely response and accurate data collection.
Automated gunfire alerts from detection systems like SoundThinking often lead to faster response times, making it easier to secure witnesses, and aid investigators in finding more forensic evidence at the scene, leading to higher conviction rates.
In fact, examining gun crime data, the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery found that gunshot victims where a SoundThinking activation was involved tended to be less likely to undergo trauma bay resuscitative measures, and more likely to receive blood products. SoundThinking activation significantly reduced both the response time as well as transport time for both police and EMS.
However, receiving geopositioned gunfire alerts on a map doesn’t necessarily mean officers get to the scene in time to make an arrest. Usually, by the time officers arrive on the scene of an alert, they merely find an empty street. In Minneapolis, six years of data showed that out of the 5,029 dispatches to SoundThinking activations, a mere 51 resulted in bookings (Minneapolis ShotSpotter Data 2009-2015).
This has led city councils and government officials in various cities around the country to publicly question the effectiveness and value of systems like SoundThinking, but we know they can provide incredible value when part of a real-time crime center solution, like Axon Fusus.
Integrating live video into gunfire detection systems delivers the whole picture
The main problem with gunfire detection systems like SoundThinking, is not how well they perform, but what they aren’t designed to do. By simply geolocating gunfire, the detection system gives law enforcement only half the picture- it tells them the location of a crime in progress, but does not provide additional details about who is involved or what is happening.
This is where live video integration becomes invaluable. By integrating city owned cameras as well as privately owned cameras into a gunshot detection system, law enforcement can gain immediate insight into crimes in progress.
Real-time video integration makes a gunshot detection system like SoundThinking much more valuable as a crime fighting tool- once gunfire is detected, live and prerecorded camera feeds can immediately be accessed from the vicinity of the incident to assess the situation as it unfolds.
Not only does this promote faster response rates based on more specific data, it also enhances public and officer safety by allowing responding units to know if the gunman or innocent bystanders are on the scene, or if the incident is still unfolding. It can also boost criminal apprehension rates by delivering a real-time video feed of assailants fleeing the scene, as well as combined audio and video evidence for tagging and storage.
For example, in Minneapolis the MPD has recently integrated their SoundThinking system into the Axon Fusus Real-Time Crime Center in the Cloud platform. When gunfire occurs, the alert from SoundThinking activates on the FususONE map interface in the MPD Strategic Information Center (SIC), and all connected cameras in a designated radius around the detected gunfire are automatically activated immediately.
In many cases, these are buffered video streams, that go beyond showing what is currently happening at that location - they actually allow MPD analysts in the SIC to go back BEFORE the shots were fired to see what led up to the incident.
A force-multiplier for existing public safety investments
The integration of live video, acoustic gunfire detectors, as well as other IoT sensors is a transformative solution for law enforcement and public safety agencies. The good news is that the investment into most of this infrastructure has often already been made - gunshot detection systems, various sensors, and cameras already exist in many communities. The problem is, those systems often exist in silos and so they cannot provide their full value.
By defragmenting public safety infrastructure and bringing all video and data onto a common platform like Axon Fusus, public safety agencies will be able to act more efficiently and effectively. Officer safety, public safety and criminal apprehension efforts will all be positively impacted by breaking down these silos and creating a smarter police force whose daily operations are based on real-time intelligence.
About Axon Fusus
Axon Fusus extracts and unifies live video and data feeds from virtually any source, creating a central hub that enhances the situational awareness and investigative capabilities of law enforcement and public safety agencies.
Whether it’s gunshot detection, a drone, a traffic camera, a private cell phone video, a building security camera, or a bomb disposal robot, Fusus can extract the data feed and send it to your emergency operations center and officers in the field. We create a public safety ecosystem that combines video with our other utilities like real-time officer geolocator feeds, a registry map of all the public and private cameras in your region, a multi-media tips line for the public, and a digital evidence vault for investigators.
Fusus Law Enforcement and Public Safety agencies can operate more efficiently, with improved operational intelligence, and with a proactive emphasis on officer, citizen, and community safety.
Learn more about Axon Fusus today.