Worth a shot

I see that the Portland police want to try placing gunshot detection sensors around various parts of town. This would let them know right away when and where gunfire happens, without relying on the vagaries of the 911 system. A lot of people who hear gunfire don't even bother to call it in, because they know they'll sit on hold, and the cops probably won't do anything anyway.

Of course, the usual suspects are dead set against the sensors, known as ShotSpotter. The fearless city commissioner Jo Ann With the Bullhorn, for example, is already signalling she's going to stand in the way. 

"[W]ithout a sound plan in place I am concerned this will be a tool for surveilling and over-policing low income neighborhoods and communities of color that does nothing to actually reduce gun violence.

"And if we truly want to reduce crime we need to expand investments to address the underlying problems people face that drive them to commit crimes such as poverty.”

She's been singing this song for years, and it's getting mighty old. The statistics are pretty clear. Murder by gun is out of control in Portland. Every argument among gang members of a certain gender, age, and race is settled by shooting. We know where the shooting is happening and who's doing it. Let's not kid ourselves about where, and against whom, enforcement efforts need to be directed.

Portland needs more cops, and they need more tools. A device that sends a signal when gunshots are audible on a public street is not intrusive on anyone's privacy. Google does far worse, on a much larger scale, every minute of every day. And putting ShotSpotter in the West Hills, and other places where the guns don't go off, seems like a waste of money for meaningless symbolism.

Portland need to try some version of this, at least. The bodies are piling up.

And let's get real. By that I mean, for the love of God, let's get somebody real in that City Council seat in a few months.