Read the report: “The Echoing Failure of Acoustic Gunshot Detectors,” by Jonathan Hofer
In this episode of Independent Conversations, Graham H. Walker is joined by Jonathan Hofer and Brian Hofer for a sharp discussion on acoustic gunshot detection systems: what they are, why police departments adopted them and why the real-world evidence has failed to match the marketing.
At its core, this episode asks a hard question: when cities spend millions on public safety technology, are they buying better outcomes or just better-sounding excuses?
What You’ll Learn:
- What acoustic gunshot detection actually does and where the technology came from
- Why police departments adopted these systems so quickly
- How “AI” and automation can make weak technology sound more objective than it is
- Why 90% accuracy claims can collapse under real-world scrutiny
- How false positives drain officer time and delay responses to real emergencies
- Why opportunity cost matters when cities choose technology over detectives
- Why cities need honest cost-benefit analysis before renewing police tech contracts
This is a necessary conversation about what happens when the government buys the pitch before checking the results.
