Cambridge City Council voted Monday night to pull the plug on the city’s ShotSpotter gunshot detection network, ordering the city manager to shut off and physically remove the sensors within 90 days. The close decision capped months of argument over whether the rooftop microphones actually make streets safer or simply layer in more surveillance. It also came on the heels of a high profile Memorial Drive shooting that several councilors brought up during the debate.
Under the policy order, councilors directed the city manager and police department to terminate contracts and clear the devices out on a 90 day schedule, according to Boston.com. The outlet also notes that the technology is sold by a company now doing business as SoundThinking and that Cambridge’s network has been supported in part by federal grant dollars.
Councillor Ayah Al Zubi, who led the push, framed the move as a basic defense of residents’ privacy and safety, while Councillor Jivan Sobrinho Wheeler warned that the system could fuel over policing in communities of color, Cambridge Day reported. Critics pointed to what they described as frequent false alarms, a lack of independent scientific validation, and concern that the company’s historical data tools could be tapped by federal agencies…