CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago will not renew its ShotSpotter contract and plans to cease utilizing the controversial gunshot detection system later this yr, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s workplace introduced Tuesday.
The system, which depends on a synthetic intelligence algorithm and community of microphones to establish gunshots, has been criticized for inaccuracy, racial bias and regulation enforcement misuse. An Associated Press investigation of the expertise, which is utilized in roughly 140 cities, detailed how a Chicago man was jailed on scant ShotSpotter-generated proof and later launched for inadequate proof.
Chicago’s $49 million contract with SoundThinking, a public security expertise firm, expires Friday. The metropolis plans to wind down use of ShotSpotter expertise by late September, in keeping with metropolis officers.
“Chicago will deploy its resources on the most effective strategies and tactics proven to accelerate the current downward trend in violent crime,” town stated in an announcement. “Doing this work, in consultation with community, violence prevention organizations and law enforcement, provides a pathway to a better, stronger, safer Chicago for all.”
Johnson’s workplace stated that in the course of the interim interval, regulation enforcement and group security teams will “assess tools and programs that effectively increase both safety and trust” and situation suggestions.
A SoundThinking consultant did not instantly have remark Tuesday.
Johnson, a first-term mayor, campaigned on a promise to finish using ShotSpotter, placing him at odds with police leaders who’ve praised the system.
They argue that crime charges — not residents’ race — decide the place the expertise is deployed.
“Technology is where policing is going as a whole. If we’re not utilizing technology, then we fall behind in crime fighting,” Police Superintendent Larry Snelling advised The AP in an October interview. “There are always going to be issues. Nothing is 100% and nothing’s going to be perfect.”
Violent crime, together with homicides and shootings, has largely fallen throughout the nation to about the identical degree as earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic, although property crimes have risen in some locations. In Chicago, the downward development of violent crime has continued initially of 2024 with a 30% drop in homicides. There have been 39 via final week in contrast with 56 throughout the identical interval final yr.
Chicago police declined remark Tuesday, directing inquiries to the mayor’s workplace.
Community public security teams argued that the system sends cops to predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods for occasionally pointless and hostile encounters.
The Stop ShotSpotter Coalition praised the announcement however stated Chicago ought to finish using the expertise sooner.
“Victims, survivors, their families and the communities with the highest rates of gun violence deserve more tangible support, resources and solutions that have been forgone due to investments in policing and technology that do not prevent or reduce violence,” the coalition stated in a Tuesday assertion.
Source web site: www.hindustantimes.com
