A year ago, this editorial board noted that Mayor Brandon Johnson was talking from both sides of his mouth when he pulled the cord on ShotSpotter when its nearly $50 million contract ended, only to plug the gunfire-detection system back in temporarily until the Democratic National Convention wrapped up.
“Only in Johnson’s City Hall does this make sense,” we said of the mayor’s vacillating position at the time. The system was shut down for good last September.
Now Chicagoans are learning of the very real possibility that ShotSpotter or similar surveillance technology could return. And the 180-degree turn back toward gunshot detection — a full 360-degree circle, if ShotSpotter comes back — could have been avoided if the mayor had simply listened to the right people.
In this case, the right people were Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling and City Council members who were proponents of the technology; University of Chicago researchers who found that ShotSpotter likely saved dozens of lives every year; and everyday people in neighborhoods plagued by gun violence, who felt the technology helped keep their communities safer.
ShotSpotter was not perfect at gunshot detection, as reports from the city’s Office of the Inspector General and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office found. Detractors complained that ShotSpotter didn’t prevent crime, but that’s not what it was designed to do. Some critics also said ShotSpotter contributed to “overpolicing” in communities of color. Other cities have opted to get rid of ShotSpotter, though over 170 cities still have it, and the overall retention rate is 99%, with 40% of municipalities opting to expand the use of the technology, an executive with SoundThinking, Shotpotter’s parent company, told us.
As the Johnson administration weighs potential new technology, City Hall should listen to the experts, as well as the voices of those most affected by gun violence. In neighborhoods where people don’t always call police, for various reasons, when they hear what might be gunfire, technology to alert police and other first responders can indeed save lives.
Tight-lipped on possible contract
SoundThinking is among the 15 firms that responded to the city’s “request for information” for police technologies to enhance safety and address violent crimes.
SoundThinking wouldn’t say whether it plans to go a step further and submit a bid for a “gun violence detection” contract. The city was equally tight-lipped when Sun-Times reporter Tom Schuba inquired about technologies being used or considered in the future.
The city has posted online that it is seeking technology to “enable CPD to detect instances of violent crime, in order to expedite response times, improve the likelihood of obtaining forensic evidence, and enable rapid deployment of first aid for victims.”
Two companies that specialize in gunshot-detection technology, Crime Gun Intelligence Technologies and Flock Safety, are considering bids for the contract.
As the story unfolds, City Hall must make sure there’s no more of the unnecessary drama that unfolded last year. Put public safety, not pleasing campaign supporters, first and foremost. Evaluate the bids and the companies involved with the seriousness the issue deserves — because lives really are at stake. Nix any dismissive characterizations like “a walkie-talkie on a pole,” as Johnson once called ShotSpotter.
Johnson, it should be noted, hasn’t been averse to using similar technology designed to enhance public safety, without public input. It is under his administration that the Chicago Transit Authority started testing ZeroEyes, the system that uses artificial intelligence-equipped cameras to detect guns. Several police districts have started using ZeroEyes as well.
Will ShotSpotter make a comeback? Who knows?
But City Hall must make the best decision for the safety of Chicagoans, not for the sake of campaign promises.
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