SCC: CIVIC-PG Track B: Community-based Gunshot Alert System
Gun violence and the reckless use of firearms have been a pervasive and growing problem in the United States, especially in low-income communities and communities of underrepresented minorities. The problem has only become exacerbated by increasingly permissive gun control laws, easy access to firearms, and an increasing mistrust of law enforcement that often inhibits reporting by the community. This project, motivated by real-world events in an economically disadvantaged community in Austin, Texas, seeks to build a community-based acoustic gunshot location (AGL) system for detecting, localizing, and classifying gunshots using a distributed network of inexpensive acoustic sensors coupled to a cloud-based service. The sensors would connect to the cloud through residents’ wireless internet service, and the system would report shots via a mobile app. The project team will engage directly with the neighborhood community, law enforcement, and local government to develop a technological system and practical implementation that provides a scalable, sustainable, effective, and community-controlled solution to report and reduce gun-related crimes.
The proposed work will produce an alternative to current AGL deployments: a low-cost, community-based system. It has the potential to cover much larger areas due to its affordability and the inherent scaling potential due to its crowd-sourced nature. Since residents install the sensors of their own free will and may receive alerts directly, we hypothesize that a sense of ownership and control of the system will result in different attitudes toward it. Even if a shooter is not found, precise localization can identify a victim or someone under threat, provide life-saving aid and help discover evidence. The proposed work has the potential for truly broad impact by improving the health and safety of underprivileged communities across the United States, while also helping law enforcement with gun-related crimes. If the pilot proves successful, the approach is inherently suitable to rapid scale-up via commercialization.
This work builds off of the pioneering work of our team in the area of wireless sensor network-based gunshot localization. During the initial project award term (i.e., the planning phase), the team will work with local law enforcement and members of the community to answer the following research questions: What are the community’s needs and concerns related to gun violence? What are the police department’s needs and concerns related to gun violence? How can the proposed community-based AGL system address the needs and concerns of both? We will conduct surveys and organize a workshop where the research team will work with members of the community and law enforcement to develop the specifications of the system. In addition, we will develop the sensor node hardware in order to be prepared for a quick launch of the Stage 2 pilot program. The pilot will start by further refining the specifications and rapidly developing the required software based on an existing code base and a large library of urban gunshot recordings. The team will then deploy the system in an Austin neighborhood, measure technical efficacy, and assess its impact on public safety and community attitudes.
This project and subsequent pilot deployment will provide a model for similar disadvantaged communities to adopt and adapt to their unique needs and circumstances. The research conducted under this project will advance the state of knowledge in low-cost gunshot localization technology and will provide a valuable assessment of the impact and cost effectiveness of such systems when combined with a broad program of community engagement and education.
