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AI-Assisted Acoustic Gunshot Detection for Emergency Response

What it is for

Safety & Security
  • ShotSpotter provides acoustic gunshot detection to assist with emergency call response, alerting patrol units to potential gunfire and enhancing investigations involving firearms.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report — ShotSpotter

Enforcement
  • Activations may result in evidence collection that can enhance case investigations, and problematic locations identified through alerts may require additional resource deployment and further police investigations.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report — ShotSpotter

Run by
New York Police Department (NYPD)
Where
No fixed location
Kept
Not stated by the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation.
Shared with
Accountable organization, Vendor
Your copy
You cannot see the data it holds about you. What you can do

What it is for

Safety & SecurityEnforcement

ShotSpotter is an acoustic gunshot detection system deployed by the NYPD that listens for sounds in public spaces and classifies them as potential gunfire. When a potential gunshot is detected, the system pinpoints the location and routes the incident to human acoustic experts for confirmation before police are notified. The system has been in use since 2015 and does not collect identifying information about individuals, though activations may result in evidence collection used in investigations.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

About a measurement
Anonymized data
  • Acoustic audio signals captured by sensors deployed across geographic areas are analyzed for characteristics consistent with gunshots. No identifying information about individuals is collected or disclosed.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report — ShotSpotter

About a place
Anonymized data
  • The system operates across defined geographic spaces monitored by the sensor network, using location data to triangulate the source of detected sounds.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report — ShotSpotter

Processing

Classification & Prediction
  • The system classifies audio signals to determine whether they represent potential gunfire. This is the core computation type described in the register (Classification). Classified incidents are not acted upon automatically — they are forwarded to acoustic experts for human review.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report — ShotSpotter

What it does

Sensing (Perceptive AI)
Human decides
  • Specialized software analyzes audio signals from microphones deployed in geographic areas to detect and locate potential gunshot sounds, converting raw acoustic input into structured incident detections.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report — ShotSpotter

Deciding (Analytical AI)
Human decides
  • The system classifies detected sounds as potential gunfire and determines the location of the sound source. Classified incidents are then routed to human acoustic experts for additional analysis before any notification is sent.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report — ShotSpotter

Outputs

About a place
Anonymized data
  • The tool determines the location of the sound source — a geographic coordinate or address — which is included in incident reports sent to acoustic experts and ultimately to patrol units upon confirmation.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report — ShotSpotter

A recommendation or prediction
Anonymized data
  • Once classified as potential gunfire, the system sends an incident report to acoustic experts for additional analysis. Notifications for confirmed gunfire are then sent to police units — an advisory chain where humans confirm before action is taken.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report — ShotSpotter

Run by

New York Police Department (NYPD)
  • The NYPD deploys and operates ShotSpotter to support patrol operations and emergency call response involving potential gunfire incidents across New York City.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report — ShotSpotter

Built by

ShotSpotter
  • ShotSpotter is the proprietary software vendor that developed and maintains the acoustic gunshot detection system. Training data is proprietary to the vendor. The engagement is classified as procurement and professional services.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report — ShotSpotter

Kept for

Not stated by the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation.

Shared with

Available to the accountable organization
  • Incident data, alert notifications, and location information generated by ShotSpotter are available to the NYPD for emergency response, patrol operations, and case investigations.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report — ShotSpotter

Available to vendor
  • The vendor (ShotSpotter) developed and maintains the software, and holds proprietary training data. The extent to which the vendor retains access to audio signals or incident data processed through the system is not specified in the register.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report — ShotSpotter

Not available to me
  • No identifying information about individuals is collected or disclosed by the system. Members of the public in monitored areas cannot access the audio data or incident records generated about their geographic area through any direct self-service mechanism described in the register.

NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report — ShotSpotter

Stored

Not stated by the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation.

How to read the colours

Can it identify you?

Anonymized data
Data about people with the link to who is broken. Stripped of identifiers, blurred, aggregated, or noised so this system can’t reasonably tie a record back to an individual.
Pseudonymous data
Each person’s data is tied to a token (hash, ID, template) that lets this system recognise the same person across events, but the token itself doesn’t reveal a name. Reidentification is possible with extra information.
Identifiable data
The data either contains a direct identifier (name, address, account name, recognisable face or voice, plate number) or carries a token this system uses to look up legal identity during processing.

Who completes the loop?

Human decides
This mode suggests; a person decides what to do next. The AI is always advisory — a human is in the loop on every decision. Example: a triage tool ranks cases for a clinician who chooses which to see first.
Human executes
This mode decides; a person carries out the result. Example: an optimizer plans the day’s trash-collection routes, and drivers run them.
Autonomous
This mode decides and acts on its own. No person reviews each decision or carries out the resulting action.

Definitions from the DTPR standard. Amber is about your data, violet about who decides. The fuller the shape and the deeper the colour, the more identifying the data or the less a person is involved.

What you can do

Ask about this system

Questions go to the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation, not the vendor.

Your rights

  • Right to Algorithmic TransparencyMembers of the public may request information about algorithmic tools used by the NYPD through New York City's public records process (FOIL). The NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report is publicly available and discloses the existence and purpose of this system. Training data is noted as proprietary to the vendor, limiting full transparency about the model's logic.
  • Right to Be Informed of AI UseThe existence of ShotSpotter sensors and the system's operation in specific NYC neighborhoods is publicly disclosed through the NYC Algorithmic Tools Compliance Report. Individuals in monitored areas are not given real-time notice that acoustic monitoring is occurring, as the system is a passive environmental sensor network rather than an interactive system.

Risks and safeguards

  • Civil liberties harmAcoustic surveillance of public spaces may have a chilling effect on lawful assembly and movement, and persistent monitoring of specific geographic areas may disproportionately affect certain communities. The system operates across defined geographic spaces and activations may trigger police deployment and evidence collection, raising concerns about over-policing in monitored areas.Safeguard: The system routes all potential gunshot detections to human acoustic experts for review before any police notification is sent, ensuring a human is in the loop before action is taken. The register states no identifying information about individuals is collected or disclosed.
  • Reputational harmFalse positive classifications by the system could lead to unwarranted police deployment to locations and, if evidence is collected, could affect individuals who are not connected to any gunfire incident. Misclassification of lawful sounds as gunshots may result in stigmatization of neighborhoods or individuals.Safeguard: The two-stage review process — AI classification followed by mandatory human acoustic expert confirmation — is intended to reduce false positives before any police notification or resource deployment is triggered.