The NYPD's latest anti-crime program may be more invasive than it seems. Called ShotSpotter, this technology claims to help police reduce gun violence by monitoring public streets for loud noises. The problem is: ShotSpotter may also be able to record conversations, Fusion reports.

The company has adamantly maintained that it is not a voice surveillance device, but others aren't so sure.

"There is clear evidence that ShotSpotter can record conversations," Electronic Frontier Foundation activist Nadia Kayyali told Business Insider. 

While ShotSpotter admits that these cases happen, it emphasizes that they are exceptional. It only collects noises that happen at exactly the time of the blast, according to CEO Ralph A. Clark. 

"The system basically truncates the noise; two seconds before, maybe three seconds after," Clark explained to Business Insider. He went on to emphasize that ShotSpotter's technology does not live-stream.

"The technology is not capable of doing any online real-time streaming," he said.

Privacy concerns over ShotSpotter, however, may still start to bubble up in New York, which is piloting a $1.5 million project to test the on-the-street equipment.

"This gunshot detection system is going to do a world of good in terms of going after the bad guys," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said when announcing the initiative. Beginning this week, the NYPD will install 300 ShotSpotter microphones in both Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-nypds-newest-technology-may-be-recording-conversations-2015-3#ixzz3VZKkATYb