Chicago will not renew ShotSpotter contract, Mayor Johnson says
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CHICAGO (WGN) — Mayor Brandon Johnson announced Tuesday that Chicago is not renewing the city’s ShotSpotter contract.
The mayor said the contract with ShotSpotter’s owner, “SoundThinking,” ends on Friday — but the technology itself will work until Sept. 22. Officers will have access to SpotShotter throughout the summer and during the Democratic National Convention in August.
Johnson said over the next months, law enforcement and community leaders will assess other gun violence prevention tools and give recommendations. He also said the Chicago Police Department will implement new gun violence response training and strategies.
Chicago’s controversial contract with ShotSpotter debated as deadline looms
The following statement was released Tuesday by the mayor’s office:
The City of Chicago will not renew its contract with SoundThinking that expires February 16, 2024, and will decommission the use of ShotSpotter technology on September 22, 2024. During the interim period, law enforcement and other community safety stakeholders will assess tools and programs that effectively increase both safety and trust, and issue recommendations to that effect.
In advance of the decommissioning in September, the Chicago Police Department will work to revamp operations within the Strategic Decision Support Centers, implement new training and further develop response models to gun violence that ultimately reduce shootings and increase accountability.
Moving forward, the City of Chicago will deploy its resources on the most effective strategies and tactics proven to accelerate the current downward trend in violent crime. Doing this work, in consultation with community, violence prevention organizations and law enforcement, provides a pathway to a better, stronger, safer Chicago for all.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office
For years, grassroots organizations targeted ShotSpotter pointing to studies questioning the technology’s effectiveness. A 2021 report by the MacArthur Justice Center found that nearly 86% of police deployments to gunfire alerts resulted in no formal reports of crime.
Others have argued the tool leads to over-policing of marginalized communities.
Members of City Council land on both sides of the debate.
“This is indeed a win for the city,” said Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward). “We’re going to move now in the next months planning, planning with our communities we want to plan neighborhoods by neighborhood.”
Ald. Peter Chico (10th Ward), a Chicago police officer, argued the technology aids authorities in instances where the community doesn’t dial 911.
“As a police officer for the last ten-and-a-half years, I’ve dealt with ShotSpotter,” Chico said. “I’ve seen it work. I’ve seen it save lives. I’ve seen it be depended on for intelligence and things like that.”
CPD superintendent Larry Snelling has made a similar argument before, with various other city council members having urged Johnson to defer to police.
“One of my main things is always to support the police,” said Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward). “I want the police to have any ammunition that they think that they need to help to keep us safe here in Chicago.”
“Where do you draw the line? Do you take away the license plate readers next?” Lopez said. “Are you going to end camera? Are we going to take away every tool that has made this job and our communities safer?”
The last contract renewal of ShotSpotter cost the city $10.2 million, and people who pushed for terminating ShotSpotter said that money will be easily re-appropriated.
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