Early one morning last May, on a bungalow-lined street in Avalon Park, ShotSpotter detected real gunshots: more than half a dozen rounds fired. It was a busy night, and officers didn’t make it to the scene for more than half an hour. But when they arrived they found 24-year-old Aréanah Preston, a Loyola law studentContinue reading “Chicago Tribune: With ShotSpotter Staying in Chicago for the Time Being, Dispute Continues Over the System’s Usefulness”
Author Archives: Eric Piza
Vital City: Learning about ShotSpotter — and Gun Violence — from Chicago
Research shows the technology doesn’t reduce shootings or increase clearance rates, but it may have other benefits. On February 13, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced that the city’s ShotSpotter gunshot detection system would be discontinued, with a phasing out of the technology set to begin this September. ShotSpotter is the global leader in gunshot detection technologyContinue reading “Vital City: Learning about ShotSpotter — and Gun Violence — from Chicago”
Springer Nature: Breaking barriers: Dr. Eric L. Piza’s evolution from an undergrad researcher to open access crusader in crime analysis and policing
As an undergraduate at Rutgers University, Dr. Eric L. Piza stumbled upon an opportunity that would shape his career trajectory: a flier for research assistant positions at the Police Institute, under the guidance of Professor George Kelling. Little did he know that this experience would discover a world of collaborative problem-solving, crime analysis, and research thatContinue reading “Springer Nature: Breaking barriers: Dr. Eric L. Piza’s evolution from an undergrad researcher to open access crusader in crime analysis and policing”
Governing: New Policing Strategies and the Challenge of Implementation
The policing profession spends a lot of time discussing and studying programs and policies, and less time thinking about how they’re implemented. Why can a program that’s effective in one city be a disaster in another city? How much of a program or policy’s effectiveness can be attributed to the way it was implemented? AtContinue reading “Governing: New Policing Strategies and the Challenge of Implementation”
KMBC News 9: New Study Questions Effectiveness of Gunfire Detection System Used by KCPD
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —A newly released study found that the gunfire detection system the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department has been using since 2012 hasn’t reduced any violent crime categories. The study published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology looked at data both before and after the technology was installed. “Also, shootings that occurred withinContinue reading “KMBC News 9: New Study Questions Effectiveness of Gunfire Detection System Used by KCPD”
NPR Kansas City: ShotSpotter Gunshot Detection System Fails to Reduce Violent Crime in Kansas City, Study Says
The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners recently approved spending $200,000 for another year of ShotSpotter, a surveillance technology, despite a new study that says it doesn’t achieve the city’s public safety goals.An audio surveillance technology the Kansas City Police Department uses to detect the location of gunshots has failed to reduce violent crime, aContinue reading “NPR Kansas City: ShotSpotter Gunshot Detection System Fails to Reduce Violent Crime in Kansas City, Study Says”
The Effect of Gunshot Detection Technology on Evidence Collection and Case Clearance in Kansas City, Missouri
Eric L. Piza, Rachael A. Arietti, Jeremy G. Carter, and George O. Mohler (2023) Journal of Experimental Criminology Research BriefVersion of Record (Open Access) *This study was funded by the National Institute of Justice (grant number 2019-R2-CX0004) Key Takeaways Research Summary Clearance rates have long been used as a measure of police performance and effectiveness,Continue reading “The Effect of Gunshot Detection Technology on Evidence Collection and Case Clearance in Kansas City, Missouri”
Gunshot Detection Technology Effect on Gun Violence in Kansas City, Missouri: A Microsynthetic Control Evaluation
Eric L. Piza, David N. Hatten, George O. Mohler, Jeremy G. Carter, and Jisoo Cho (2023) Criminology & Public Policy Research BriefVersion of Record (Open Access) *This study was funded by the National Institute of Justice (grant number 2019-R2-CX0004) Key Takeaways Research Summary Gunshot detection technology (GDT) has recently emerged as a core entry intoContinue reading “Gunshot Detection Technology Effect on Gun Violence in Kansas City, Missouri: A Microsynthetic Control Evaluation”
The Impact of Gunshot Detection Technology on Gun Violence in Kansas City and Chicago: A Multi-Pronged Synthetic Control Evaluation
2020-2023 Funder: National Institute of Justice($503,129) Principal Investigator: Eric L. Piza Co-Principal Investigators: Jeremy G. Carter & George O. Mohler Project Overview This quasi-experimental longitudinal interrupted time series project will evaluate the Gunshot Detection Technology (GDT) systems (ShotSpotter) in Kansas City, MO, and Chicago, IL using a synthetic control group approach to improve comparability. BothContinue reading “The Impact of Gunshot Detection Technology on Gun Violence in Kansas City and Chicago: A Multi-Pronged Synthetic Control Evaluation”
NGN: Stores are Locking Up Everyday Goods. Is Organized Retail Theft on the Rise?
Socks, cold medicine, even deodorant. Going to Target or CVS these days to grab essentials is a little more complicated as retailers lock up everyday goods in an effort to curb shoplifting. It’s enough to get shoppers frustrated and wondering “Is all this really necessary?” Just how much shoplifting and organized retail crime is hurtingContinue reading “NGN: Stores are Locking Up Everyday Goods. Is Organized Retail Theft on the Rise?”
Eric L. Piza, Ph.D. 