Many more of Honolulu’s parks would be subject to video surveillance under a one-year pilot program recently approved by the City Council. But it’s unclear when the rollout will begin because the city still needs to identify funding sources, according to council member Radiant Cordero, who introduced the resolution. The city did not respond to a rangeContinue reading “Honolulu Wants To Put More Cameras In Public Parks To Reduce Crime”
Author Archives: Eric Piza
‘More of a Band-Aid’: US cities canceling ShotSpotter due to cost, efficacy questions
COLUMBUS, Ohio — As U.S. cities grapple with gun violence, city leaders and law enforcement agencies have approached the issue in a myriad of ways, including investing in community-based organizations and nonprofits that focus on violence prevention efforts to address the root causes. More than 170 law enforcement agencies have sought help in the form ofContinue reading “‘More of a Band-Aid’: US cities canceling ShotSpotter due to cost, efficacy questions”
The Last Show with David Cooper: CCTV Cameras and Crime
Criminology professors Dr. Eric Piza and Dr. Brandon Welsh reveal whether CCTV cameras really deter crime significantly.
Can Place-Based Crime Prevention Impacts Be Sustained Over Long Durations? 11-Year Follow-up of a Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of a CCTV Project
Eric L. Piza, Brandon C. Welsh, Savannah A. Reid, and David N. Hatten (2025) Criminology & Public Policy Research BriefVersion of Record (Open Access) Key Takeaways Research Summary This study investigates the long-term impact of a large-scale CCTV surveillance project in Newark, New Jersey, to determine whether its crime prevention effects persist, diminish, or evolveContinue reading “Can Place-Based Crime Prevention Impacts Be Sustained Over Long Durations? 11-Year Follow-up of a Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of a CCTV Project”
Advanced Security Cameras Give Cities New Ways to Deter Vandalism and Theft
The prank sounds harmless enough: High school students wait until dark, pour soap into a public fountain and laugh as it fills up with bubbles. But when it happened 17 times in one year — ruining several $30,000 pumps and requiring a two-day cleanup process each time — city officials in Opelika, Ala., began searching for aContinue reading “Advanced Security Cameras Give Cities New Ways to Deter Vandalism and Theft”
As ShotSpotter rolls out in Tacoma, feelings over gunshot detection technology remain mixed
In an effort to curb gun crime, Tacoma announced last year that it was turning to a tool called ShotSpotter. ShotSpotter is a form of Gun Detection Technology (GDT), which uses a series of acoustic microphone sensors to track loud bangs, booms, and pops in a designated area. Once those “dynamic events” are triggered, aContinue reading “As ShotSpotter rolls out in Tacoma, feelings over gunshot detection technology remain mixed”
Eric Piza named Lipman Family Chair in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Eric Piza, a professor of criminology and criminal justice, has been named the new Lipman Family Chair in Northeastern University’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Established in 1999 by Ira Lipman, the founder of private security company Guardsmark, the Lipman Family Chair supports the work of Northeastern academics whose research and instruction in criminologyContinue reading “Eric Piza named Lipman Family Chair in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice”
Dozens of Cities Are Paying for Gunshot Detection Tech They May Not Need
A new analysis by The Trace identified cities across the country that are using ShotSpotter despite averaging fewer than one shooting a month in which someone was killed or injured.
AI gunshot detection technology at UMD raises concerns about false positives, policing
UMPD has spent more than $135,000 on AI gunshot detection with payments spanning 2017 to 2023, despite concerns about the technology’s accuracy, according to records obtained by The Diamondback. University of Maryland Police use ShotSpotter — an artificial intelligence-based acoustic gunshot detection system owned by the technology company SoundThinking — to alert campus police inContinue reading “AI gunshot detection technology at UMD raises concerns about false positives, policing”
Profs on Cops: Closed-Circuit TV Systems
Most local law enforcement agencies have their own closed-circuit TV systems, aimed at curbing crime and apprehending criminals. According to Eric Piza, Professor of Criminology at Northeastern University, who has studied this in Newark, N.J. and elsewhere, CCTV systems can reduce both violent crime and property crime if linked to strategic staff deployment.
Eric L. Piza, Ph.D. 