(Replying to PARENT post)
There is also a line of thinking that the system should not be installed at all, under any circumstance, because it is ineffective:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/07/its-time-police-stop-u...
https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/four-problems-w...
๐คevanjrowley๐2y๐ผ0๐จ๏ธ0
(Replying to PARENT post)
The issue involves both the placement (in low income black neighborhoods) and accuracy (allegedly low). According to critics, ShotSpotter has thousands of false positives. Naturally when police think shots have been fired, their response is going to be much different than an innocent knock on the door. Imagine riding your bike down the street as a kid and dozens of cops suddenly arrive with their guns drawn.
So assuming the stats on low accuracy are correct, the use of Shotspotter seems to unjustly subject black residents to potentially harmful high-stakes police calls with no apparent benefit.
๐คdanielfoster๐2y๐ผ0๐จ๏ธ0
(Replying to PARENT post)
Legally police need evidence of some crime (probable cause) to stop and investigate an individual. This is so police can't just randomly confront people or even worse illegally discriminate based on race. Police have historically used minor traffic violations like tail light failure, the smell of marijuana, or "furtive movements" as loopholes to the requirement of probable cause. A technowiz device provides an excuse to just stop and frisk everyone near the alert even if the cause was a car backfiring.
๐คsupertrope๐2y๐ผ0๐จ๏ธ0
(Replying to PARENT post)
There is no proof (currently) that these systems were (or were not) only deployed in the highest gun high-crime areas. We're assuming police used data (and not racial prejudice) to place cameras, but I didn't see anything in the article to support that. That's something an investigation would reveal!
๐คjosefresco๐2y๐ผ0๐จ๏ธ0
(Replying to PARENT post)
If there are more gunshot incidents in neighbourhoods with predominately black people, they shouldn't be installed as so to not appear "racist" ?
What am I missing ?