San Jose Police department is currently testing gunshot detection technology in two neighborhoods in the city. The product, called OnSound, is created by V5 Systems out of Hayward, CA. V5 makes several claims on their website with absolutely no data to back up those claims. Each microphone is also accompanied by a camera. Here are the things that concern us about this setup:

• "Up to 90% accurate"
  • V5 claims that OnSound is up to 90% accurate, but it's unclear what that means. Seems unwise to send a trigger happy police department into a neighborhood unless we're 100% sure they're needed.
• "Private"
  • SJPD claims the microphones can't pick up voices, but there isn't any 3rd party review to back that up. All of the sound and video is saved to V5's servers and its unclear who at V5 has access to it.
• "Artificial Intelligence"
  • V5 touts the use of artificial intelligence in OnSound, but doesn't detail how the algorithm works.
• Automatic License Plate Readers
  • Each license plate recorded by the cameras is entered into a database. This technology has previously led to wrongful arrests.

We demand that SJPD halt the pilot program and discontinue the acquisition of this technology until they do their due diligence to show how it will not negatively impact our community.