×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
ShotSpotter Acoustic Detection System Another Example of a Forensic Tool Shrouded in Secrecy and Prone to Questionable Results
Loaded on Jan. 15, 2022
by Casey Bastian
published in Criminal Legal News
February, 2022, page 42
Filed under:
Police State-Surveillance,
Electronic Surveillance.
Location:
United States of America.
by Casey J. Bastian
ShotSpotter markets technology that uses microphone sensors to detect the specific acoustic signature of gunshots and then record the time and location of the signature it detects. The technology can also detect firecrackers, car backfire, and other similar sounds—not just gunshots. It is up …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Criminal Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- A Closer Look at Sex Offender Registries, by Casey Bastian
- Eighth Circuit Reiterates Statute of Conviction Determines Eligibility for Sentence Reduction Under First Step Act, Not Actual Conduct, by Dale Chappell
- Why Punishing Bad Prosecutors Won’t Fix a Bad System, by James Doyle
- California Supreme Court Announces Standard of Review and Required Showing for Prejudicial Error Under § 1473.7 to Vacate Plea Due to Lack of Understanding of Immigration Consequences, by David Reutter
- Idaho Supreme Court Announces Whether a Container Is Located Inside or Outside Vehicle When Probable Cause Arises Determines if Container May Be Searched Under Automobile Exception, Joining Conclusion of Several Other States, by Anthony Accurso
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Police Deception That Statements Wouldn’t Be Used Against Defendant Requires Suppression, by Anthony Accurso
- Sixth Circuit Vacates Sentence for Impermissible Triple-Counting of Guidelines Enhancements for Ungrouped Offenses, by Dale Chappell
- SCOTUS Reverses Tenth Circuit’s Denial of Qualified Immunity for Fatal Police Shooting, by Douglas Ankney
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Required to Provide Notice and Consider Information Provided by Parties Before Ruling on CDCR Recommendation to Recall Sentence Pursuant to § 1170(d)(1), by Douglas Ankney
- New Jersey Directive Provides Relief for Certain Drug Offenders, by Casey Bastian
- Seventh Circuit Announces Standard of Review for Bond Revocation of Defendant on Pretrial Release, by Douglas Ankney
- Kansas Supreme Court: Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Request ‘Voluntary Act’ Jury Instruction in Trial for Rape of Child Younger Than 14 Where Defendant Argued She Was Forcibly Raped by Purported ‘Victim’, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit Announces District Court Has Power to Waive Interest on Restitution Post-Sentencing, Resulting in Circuit Split, by Dale Chappell
- Third Circuit Rules Pennsylvania Courts’ Application of Federal Law Objectively Unreasonable, Overturns Conviction and Death Sentence, Grants Habeas Relief, by Dale Chappell
- Idaho Supreme Court Declares Clarke Merely Memorialized Constitutional Principle That Warrantless Arrest for Misdemeanor Completed Outside Officer’s Presence Violates State Constitution and Applies to Cases Prior to Clarke, by Douglas Ankney
- Second Circuit Announces Defendant Need Only Produce ‘Some Credible’ Evidence for Jury Instruction on Entrapment Defense, Clarifying It’s a Burden of Production, Not Persuasion, by Douglas Ankney
- Snitch Visas: A Pipe Dream, by David Reutter
- New Digital Warrants Undermine Fourth Amendment, by Anthony Accurso
- California Court of Appeal Announces Trial Courts Have Authority to Deny Request for Continuance of Motion to Suppress for Failure to Show ‘Good Cause’ Even if it Results in Dismissal, Rejecting Ferrer, by Douglas Ankney
- FBI Gives Green Light for Use of Rapid DNA Solution in Booking Stations, by Douglas Ankney
- Tenth Circuit Rules Impounding Car Following Arrest on Outstanding Warrant Was Pretextual, Suppresses Evidence Discovered, Reverses Convictions, by Anthony Accurso
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Driver Who Leaves Scene of Accident Subject to Only One Hit-and-Run Violation, Regardless of How Many Victims, by Douglas Ankney
- Pushback on Police Lying to Obtain False Confessions, by Jayson Hawkins
- Civil Forfeiture Under Fire in Massachusetts, by Jayson Hawkins
- Why Won’t the State of Missouri Release Innocent Men From Prison?, by Casey Bastian
- ShotSpotter Acoustic Detection System Another Example of a Forensic Tool Shrouded in Secrecy and Prone to Questionable Results, by Casey Bastian
- Oregon Bill Makes it More Difficult to Hide Police Misconduct, by Jacob Barrett
- New Study Reveals Digital Forensic Examiners Inclined to Biasability, by Casey Bastian
- Some Cities Taking Holistic Approach to Public Safety, by Casey Bastian
- Criminal Justice Legislation Signed by North Carolina Governor, by Ashleigh Dye
- Government Keyword Searches Revealed, by Jayson Hawkins
- Who You Gonna Call When You Don’t Want the Cops? There’s a Website for That, by Casey Bastian
- D.C. Circuit: Government Breached Plea Agreement by Violating Ambiguous Terms, Ambiguities Resolved in Favor of Defendants, Sentence Vacated, by David Reutter
- Eleventh Circuit: Georgia Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon Only Requires Mens Rea of Recklessness Thus Not a ‘Violent Felony’ Under ACCA, by Dale Chappell
- Minnesota Police Hand Out ‘Not-Reaching’ Pouches to Reduce Police Shoot-ings of Motorists, by Dale Chappell
- News in Brief
More from Casey Bastian:
- California Prisoners Sue Gynecologist for Sexual Abuse, Aug. 1, 2025
- Policing the Vulnerable: The Criminalization of Disability, May 15, 2025
- Examining Pro-Prosecution Bias in the Judiciary: Unconscious Biases of a Prosecutorial Background, Feb. 15, 2025
- The Rise of Mass Supervision: From Rehabilitative Alternative to Shadow Carceral State, Oct. 1, 2024
- Demonstrable Remorse, Psychiatric Diagnoses, and Alternatives to Incarceration, Aug. 1, 2024
- Minnesota Sex Offender Program: The Indefinite Detention of the Reviled, Aug. 1, 2024
- The 153 Exonerations in 2023 Include 19 Resulting From Threats or Sentences of Death, July 15, 2024
- Four Dead in One Month in San Bernardino County Jails, $3,232,500 in Settlements Paid So Far, March 1, 2024
- Dangerous Encounters: Interactions Between Autistic Individuals and Law Enforcement, Dec. 15, 2023
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Publishes Compassionate Release Datafile for Fiscal Years 2020-2022, Oct. 1, 2023
More from these topics:
- Surveillance for Sale: The Data Broker Loophole and the Fourth Amendment After Chatrie, July 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Federal Funds, Tainted Funds.
- SCOTUS Announces Accessing Google Location History Data Constitutes a Fourth Amendment Search, Holding That Neither Brief Duration Nor Third-Party Storage Negates Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Cellphone Location Information, July 1, 2026. Particularity Requirement, Probable Cause, Cell-Phone Location/Tracking Data, Cell Site Location Information ("CSLI"), Electronic Surveillance.
- Passive Data Transforms Smart Devices Into Covert Witnesses in a Silent Surveillance State, July 1, 2026. Forensic Sciences, Police State-Surveillance, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Electronic Surveillance, Exclusionary Rule.
- The Constitution for Sale: FBI Confirms Resumption of Data Broker Dragnets, June 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Warrantless Searches, Cell-Phone Location/Tracking Data, Electronic Surveillance, Privacy Act/Rights.
- Guilty Until Proven Innocent: The Due Process Risks of Automated Traffic Enforcement, May 1, 2026. Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Electronic Surveillance, Privacy Act/Rights, Authentication/Identification, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of.
- Beyond Geofence Warrants: Chatrie, Reverse-Location Surveillance, and the Fourth Amendment Fight Over Digital Dragnets, May 1, 2026. Police State-Surveillance, Cell-Phone Location/Tracking Data, Cell Site Location Information ("CSLI"), Electronic Surveillance.
- Oregon Supreme Court Announces Article I, Section 9, of State Constitution Protects Privacy in Internet Browsing Conducted Over Public Wi-Fi Networks, April 1, 2026. Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Warrantless Searches, Electronic Surveillance, State Constitutional Claims, Suppression.
- The “Free Trial” Police State, March 1, 2026. Police State-Surveillance, Enforcement of Immigration Laws, Electronic Surveillance, Privacy Act/Rights, Use of Drones.
- Most U.S. Prisoners Now Barred from Directly Receiving Physical Mail, Feb. 1, 2026. Mail Regulations, Due Process, Legal Mail, Censorship, Warrantless Searches, Electronic Surveillance.
- Flock’s Gunshot Sensors Are Expanding to “Distress” Sounds, Feb. 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Recordings, Privacy Act/Rights.





