The Detroit City Council is scheduled to decide June 30 whether to renew — and increase funding by more than $2 million — for a contentious gunshot detection system.
The Detroit Police Department is requesting renewal of it’s contract with ShotSpotter, which calls for a $2,058,778 increase, bringing the total to $9,058,788 and a nine-month extension. California-based Soundthinking, Inc. owns ShotSpotter, the technology that uses audio sensors to detect gun shot noises., The company’s contract period ran from Oct. 11, 2022 through June 30. They are seeking an extension to March 31, 2027.
However, some city officials and community members have long questioned whether the surveillance technology provides sufficient data to prove its efficacy in preventing gun crime.
The council, in 2022, narrowly approved a $7 million contract to expand the ShotSpotter program despite facing backlash at its meetings from community members urging officials to oppose the technology. At the time, then-Council President Mary Sheffield and council members Gabriela Santiago-Romero, Mary Waters and Angela Whitfield-Calloway opposed it.
Several attendees who called into the council’s Public Health and Safety Standing Committee meeting on Monday, June 29 stood against the renewal, questioning whether evidence and data from the system are enough to support another contract. Some suggested the money for ShotSpotter would be better used reinvesting in Community Violence Intervention groups that work in the communities to curb violence across neighborhoods.
Last week on Wednesday, June 24, Detroit Police were sent to the city’s west side after a ShotSpotter alert notified the department to the location, where they discovered a man shot dead and a 9-year-old boy critically injured.
Chief Todd Bettison, in a Free Press op-ed, also touted the system as “a major tool” in serving the public. Several community members and civil liberty groups also have long expressed concerns over whether the surveillance technology detects nearby audio, such as private conversations. Bettison has said the sensors detect only firearms discharges, filtering out other sounds.
“These sensors tell us exactly when and where a shooting occurs in real time,” Bettison wrote. “This specialized approach has improved our ability to rapidly identify and respond to gunfire incidents, often before a 911 call is ever made, if one is at all. When we respond quickly, we are more likely to catch the perpetrator. We are more likely to collect shell casings that can be used to investigate and eventually close cases, and we are able to get to victims more quickly in some cases and get them the medical attention they need.
“All this can mean the difference between life and death.”
Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit City Council to decide whether to reinvest in ShotSpotter
Reporting by Dana Afana, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Dana Afana, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
