In recent weeks, longstanding criticisms of ShotSpotter have intensified. Among them that the system is inaccurate, expensive and disproportionately harms people of color.
ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology is in use on a light pole in the Austin neighborhood on Feb. 13, 2024. Early one morning last May, on a bungalow-lined street in Avalon Park, ShotSpotter detected real gunshots: more than half a dozen rounds fired.
The episodes paint a picture of the limits of a controversial system Chicago has decided to keep around well past this summer’s Democratic National Convention after a protracted contract fight. Police see value in the system’s ability to bring them to trouble including at times when no one calls 911, but its usefulness may quickly downgrade from there, experts said.
But the software has been consistently praised by police, including Johnson’s hand-picked top cop, Larry Snelling, who credit it for quicker responses to shootings. ShotSpotter can and, according to officers, often does alert police to gunfire that citizens do not call in. The Chicago Police Department has said that, in the last three years, CPD officers responding to a ShotSpotter alert rendered lifesaving medical aid 430 times.
“I think an honest assessment of what we found is that the software tends to do what the vendor promises, in terms of identifying gunshots, in terms of directing police attention to gunshots,” Piza said. “We also found in Chicago that more guns were recovered on ShotSpotter incidents than other types of incidents.”
Chicago police leaders talk about ShotSpotter technology on May 30, 2017, at the station at 31st Street and Halsted Avenue. ShotSpotter’s pilot program debuted in Chicago in 2012 in the CPD’s Harrison and Englewood districts, historically the two most violent in the city. In the years since, the program has expanded to cover all of the city’s West Side and most of the South Side.
“OIG concluded from its analysis that CPD responses to ShotSpotter alerts rarely produce documented evidence of a gun-related crime, investigatory stop, or recovery of a firearm,” the report stated. “Additionally, OIG identified evidence that the introduction of ShotSpotter technology in Chicago has changed the way some CPD members perceive and interact with individuals present in areas where ShotSpotter alerts are frequent.
Responding officers saw a gray Dodge Charger making a U-turn and driving off through the park, according to a police report. When they pulled it over, they found no guns, but the driver’s eyes were bloodshot and he smelled of alcohol, they said. He was arrested and charged with aggravated DUI. Cook County public defenders have long challenged ShotSpotter in county courtrooms, saying evidence stemming from the technology should not be used against defendants.
In response, Cook County prosecutors have argued in court that ShotSpotter alerts — like 911 calls — are absolutely valid to consider when looking at the overall context of whether an arrest was constitutional. Public defenders have asked judges to conduct evidentiary hearings at which ShotSpotter would have to prove that their technology is generally accepted as scientifically sound. So far, no judge has granted that hearing.
“ShotSpotter is the best resource to answer questions about the reliability of their technology, not the CCSAO,” the statement continued.
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