Last year, Brandon Johnson hit the campaign trail with a promise: ax the ShotSpotter contract over its alleged dodgy effectiveness and sketchy community impact. Johnson believed that it has a high false positive rate and disproportionately targets minority neighborhoods.
True to his word, he just scrapped it.
Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd) said:
The only people against ShotSpotter are the organizers, the community organizers who want to use the money that saves Black and brown lives into their own pockets.
Overview
ShotSpotter gave Chicago high-tech ears, aiming to pinpoint gunshots through a citywide web of mics. It promises cops a real-time bat signal for bang-bangs, selling dreams of slashed response times and a kneecap to gun violence. Yet, it’s mired in a mess of debate, especially over whether it actually works and how it hammers minority neighborhoods.
Tech Specs
This tech scatters a net of eavesdropping sensors across town, snagging loud noises. A computer then plays detective, sizing up if these blasts are gunshots. When it thinks it’s caught one, ShotSpotter’s humans give it a once-over before yelling “gun!” to the cops.