Does Gunshot Detection Technology Influence Police Officer Response and Search Behaviors on Shooting Scenes? An Application of Automated Vehicle Locator Technology

• In Event: Improving the Tracking of Police Officer Activity Through Novel Technology Applications (Sponsored by Division of Policing)

Abstract

Gunshot detection technology (GDT) has been widely deployed to combat gun violence in jurisdictions throughout the United States. The primary goal of GDT relates to the prevention and improved investigation of gun crime. However, the casual mechanisms assumed to lead to such outcomes largely relate to improved performance of the officers dispatched to gunfire events. Such officer performance can be difficult to measure through traditional police databases. We incorporate automated vehicle locator (AVL) data that allows for the tracking of patrol car movement throughout time and space. We analyze the impact of GDT on officer response to shots fired, non-fatal shootings, and fatal shootings in Chicago, IL and Kansas City, MO. We measure the level to which officer responses to GDT alerts and calls for service differ across the fraction of gunfire events where the officer stopped at the scene, the accuracy of reported and detected shots fired locations in comparison to where the officer stopped, and the time it takes for officers to arrive on scene.

Authors

• Eric Piza, Northeastern University

• George Mohler, Boston College

• Jeremy Carter, Indiana University Indianapolis

• Christianna Palermo, Northeastern University