The “ShotSpotter” voice surveillance system is being promoted by Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and Deputy Police Chief Bash as a crime fighting tool capable of locating a gunshot within a 20-foot radius and determining the type and caliber of the weapon.
The ShotSpotter records everything it hears and simply selects what to detect. The sensor system associated with the software signals processing and alert system is designed to be incorporated into streetlights. ShotSpotter partnered with GE's CityIQ project that would incorporate surveillance cameras, ShotSpotter sensors, a WiFi hotspot and intelligent on-demand low power consumption LED lighting into a single streetlight.
The targeted pilot neighborhood for the ShotSpotter program is the Hilltop, though the project is budgeted to cover the entire city. However, it appears the Hilltop did not receive the whole package.
A nighttime survey of the area by a Mockingbird researcher found not a single LED, merely the same old energy hungry bulbs in use throughout the city with their characteristic yellowish light struggling to illuminate anything. No free WiFi hotspots were noted either.