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Chicago to stop using controversial gun technology this year – Winnipeg Free Press

Posted on by Neons

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago will not renew ShotSpotter's contract and plans to end use of the controversial gunshot detection system later this year, Mayor Brandon Johnson's office said Tuesday.

The system, which relies on an artificial intelligence algorithm and a network of microphones to detect gunshots, has been criticized for inaccuracy, racial bias and abuse by law enforcement. An Associated Press investigation into the technology details how police and prosecutors used ShotSpotter data as evidence to charge a Chicago grandfather with murder before a judge dismissed the case for insufficient evidence.

Chicago's deal with public safety technology company SoundThinking, which says its ShotSpotter tool is used in about 150 cities, expires Friday. The city plans to phase out ShotSpotter technology by the end of September, according to city officials. Since 2018, the city has spent $49 million on ShotSpotter.

FILE - ShotSpotter equipment looks at the intersection of South Stony Island Avenue and East 63rd Street in Chicago on Aug. 10, 2021. Chicago will not renew its contract for its gun detection system and will stop using ShotSpotter technology later this year, Mayor Brandon Johnson's office said Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, file)
FILE – ShotSpotter equipment looks at the intersection of South Stony Island Avenue and East 63rd Street in Chicago on Aug. 10, 2021. Chicago will not renew its contract for its gun detection system and will stop using ShotSpotter technology later this year, Mayor Brandon Johnson's office said Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, file)

“Chicago will deploy its resources on the most effective strategies and tactics proven to accelerate the current downward trend in violent crime,” the city said in a statement. “This work, in consultation with the community, violence prevention organizations and law enforcement agencies, will pave the way for a better, stronger and safer Chicago for all.”

Johnson's office said that in the interim, law enforcement and community safety groups will “evaluate tools and programs that will effectively increase both safety and security” and make recommendations.

A spokesman for SoundThinking had no comment Tuesday.

Johnson, the first mayor, campaigned on a promise to end the use of ShotSpotter, putting him at odds with police chiefs who praised the system.

They argue that the crime rate, not the race of the population, will determine where the technology will be used.

“Technology is policing as a whole. If we don't use technology, we're going to be left behind in the fight against crime,” Police Chief Larry Snelling said in an interview in October. “There will always be problems. Nothing is 100% and nothing is perfect.”