The mayor said Chicago no longer would use ShotSpotter when its latest contract expires. A number of aldermen are saying: Not so fast.
Mayor Brandon Johnson wipes his face during a press conference about topics related to safety and security ahead of the upcoming Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at City Hall in Chicago. of the city’s contract with the company that owns the gunshot-detection technology on which Chicago police have relied for seven years to respond quickly to shootings. But he said at the time that the city would stop using ShotSpotter once the contract runs its course.
Judging by Monday’s committee hearing on the proposed measure, most aldermen who have the technology in their wards want to keep it. ShotSpotter isn’t in use citywide. It’s deployed in 15 of 25 police districts — typically those most afflicted by gun violence. Ironically, much of the opposition to ShotSpotter comes from aldermen representing wards it doesn’t affect.
Moore made the salient point Monday, echoed by a few of his colleagues, that if Johnson deemed ShotSpotter critical to keeping out-of-towners safe during the upcoming political convention, why wouldn’t he do the same for residents of the city? “It either works or it doesn’t,” Moore said. “If it’s working for the DNC, then it needs to work for the constituents here in the city of Chicago.”
More data absolutely would be helpful to focusing this debate. ShotSpotter isn’t cheap. It costs about $9 million annually — or at least it has to date. But, if lack of data is the problem, Johnson didn’t have the data either when he unilaterally opted to end the ShotSpotter relationship.
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