For the past three years, an unidentifiable amount of security cameras equipped to detect the sounds of gunfire have given Cleveland police slightly increased response times to shooting incidents but draw high-priority action, draining resources away from other calls, and don’t aid in collecting evidence or solving crimes.
That was the top-level takeaway from a report from Cleveland State University researchers commissioned by the city as City Hall and Cleveland City Council debate the merits of a $3.2 million, three-year contract with ShotSpotter and the possibility of switching to Flock.
Last Friday, members of City Council’s Public Safety Committee wrestled with a handful of pros and cons tied to the current technology, paid for with American Rescue Plan Act dollars, and weighed the Bibb adminsitration’s proposal to pivot to Flock, which it says is the only vendor that could do sound detection, video and license plate readers. (The city already has a contract with Flock for that last function.)…