HONOLULU -- New technology to pinpoint the origin of illegal fireworks could be on the way to Honolulu.

It's already being used in 50 cities around the world, often to spot the location of gunshots in high-crime areas. But it could be used to help combat rampant illegal fireworks on Oahu.

The acoustic-sensing technology was originally designed about 17 years ago to reduce the problem of celebratory gunfire on New Years Eve and July 4th.

A company that sells the technology had a representative in Honolulu Tuesday who briefed police and fire officials as well as a community meeting Tuesday night in Waipahu.

ShotSpotter – a California-based firm -- uses acoustic sensors that triangulate sounds to determine the location of explosions of all types. Los Angeles police use that method to detect gunshots and report a 40 percent reduction in homicides they attribute to ShotSpotter technology.

Ed Jopeck of ShotSpotter presented the technology at a Village Park and Royal Kunia community meeting on crime Tuesday night in Waipahu.

"The difference between a firework and a gunshot is very minimal from a technology perspective. And what that allows us to do is effectively locate and identify fireworks in much the same way we do with gunfire," said Jopeck, who’s based in the Washington D.C. area, but has lived in Palolo.

"This would allow the police department to actually intelligently decide where to apply its scarce resources in responding to those events, those activations that are the greatest threat to safety," Jopeck said.

Council Chairman Nestor Garcia, who represents Waipahu, wants the city to seriously consider the technology to combat illegal fireworks, especially once consumer fireworks are banned on Oahu starting Jan. 2.

"We know that there is a problem out there. We hear it every night. Even last night, I heard it. The problem is trying to detect it under the cover of darkness. With this technology, as I've been told, it might be able to solve that problem for us," Garcia said.

The technology costs roughly $250,000 for the first square mile and about $200,000 per additional square mile after that, according to Jopeck.

Garcia said the sound-sensing technology could also be used to protect world leaders traveling to Honolulu for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next fall.

"If they have something like this deployed out there, perhaps it gives them that extra measure of safety, that extra measure of comfort," Garcia said.

ShotSpotter said it would take between two to three months to install one of its systems on Oahu.

The company claims its technology is very accurate, pinpointing the location of gunshots or fireworks explosions either exactly or within 9 feet.