4 ms·
I know that the amount of gun violence in the US is sometimes a shock to Europeans/foreigners in general, but I think a more pertinent question for most America
by rmxt 11y ago
I know that the amount of gun violence in the US is sometimes a shock to Europeans/foreigners in general, but I think a more pertinent question for most Americans is "Is the cost/benefit ratio worth it? Is this a proper allocation of public funds, or is it just another toy for local police departments to use?" My surprise in seeing that this is a sustainable business is this latter point: single-vendor sourced items and IDIQ contracts are a recipe for government spending disasters.
EDIT: My impression is that gun crime is heavily concentrated down to individual blocks or neighborhoods in urban areas. I don't like the idea of these devices in general, but I imagine that if they were deployed, they would be concentrated in so-called "high risk areas".
- jagermo 11y agoI was more under the impression that the gun violence is not really so high as to justify a constant monitoring system to watch out for (especially if you need a person to look over the reports and then alert law enforcement - I get the feeling a emergency hotline can cover this as well). This looks like it targets a very small (but probably high profile) subsection of criminal activities. For example, it wouldn't detect someone robbing/beating/stabbing someone.
- rmxt 11y agoAh, I might have mistook your surprise for an assumption in the other direction. I agree, I do not think that crime levels justify this sort of expenditure or monitoring. Maybe part of the appeal for law enforcement here is something that emergency hotlines can't replicate: this sort of system allows the police to be virtually omnipresent. An emergency hotline requires an engaged citizenry, one that would call the cops when a shooting happens, something that many pundits would argue crime-ridden communities are lacking.
- jagermo 11y agoNo problem. Yes, that might appeal to law enforcement, even if their intentions are good. It would be interesting to compare the benefits to other programs, like raising the amount of patroling police etc.
- sivanmz 11y agoOakland police is severely understaffed, by about a half of what a city of this size would require.
- sivanmz 11y agoWitnesses calling the police can't reliably locate the source of the gunfire. Wind, hills and buildings carry, echo and deflect the source beyond any hope. That's why a triangulating system like this is essential.