In 2017, the City of Chicago began deploying ShotSpotter, an auditory detection system that is capable of identifying gunshots and alerting law enforcement to the location where they were heard. The technology slowly but surely spread throughout some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city. The system produced measurable positive results, leading to faster police response times and investigations of gun crimes where no 911 call was received. The implementation of ShotSpotter was described as a "game-changer" by the police and many public officials. Yet Mayor Brandon Johnson made a campaign promise while running for office, vowing to remove the system from use at the behest of some of his anti-police activist supporters. Johnson remains committed to the plan which may begin as soon as this week, leaving many observers and a majority of the city's Aldermen wondering why. (National Review)

During the first eight months of 2024, Chicago police arrested hundreds of people and recovered hundreds of guns and nearly 30,000 shell casings in part because of alerts from their ShotSpotter gun-shot detection system, which far-left mayor Brandon Johnson intends to begin phasing out in just over a week.

Police also responded significantly faster to ShotSpotter alerts than 911 calls, according to a Chicago Police Department report released this week that provides a new analysis of ShotSpotter data from January 1 through August 31.

The data analysis comes as many Chicago aldermen are looking into last-minute options to keep the life-saving technology, which Johnson has vowed to remove, in part to fulfill a campaign promise and to appease the anti-police activists who helped to elect him.

A quick look at the data collected by the Chicago PD shows us what a terrible idea this is. In just the first eight months of this year, ShotSpotter alerted the police to 29,829 gunshot events. Nearly three-quarters of those events produced no 911 calls, so the police would have had no opportunity to investigate them without this technology. 451 arrests were recorded based on ShotSpotter alerts. Many of those similarly had no corresponding emergency service calls. The technology also led to the recovery of 470 guns and  29,214 bullet shells.

Johnson is going against the wishes of a significant number of the city's aldermen, who fear that the removal of the technology will spell "doomsday" for their wards. While Johnson is attempting to end the contract singlehandedly, one Alderman is currently planning a vote next week allowing the Police Superintendent to enter a new contract with the company and continue the service. Johnson is opposing the plan, but without the cooperation of the City Council, there may not be much he can do about it.

The opposition to ShotSpotter comes primarily from community leaders who claim - without evidence - that ShotSpotter is "racist" because the sensors are mostly deployed in majority-minority neighborhoods. This is a specious argument, of course, because the system is incapable of recording any form of data beyond audio signals, specifically tuning out anything except for loud retorts resembling gunshots. ShotSpotter is unaware of the color of anyone's skin who might be firing a weapon. It can't be used to go back later and "profile" anyone based on their appearance.

The reason that Shotspotter sensors are deployed where they are in Chicago boils down entirely to local crime statistics. The sensors are deployed in the areas with the highest volume of firearms discharges. Unfortunately, that typically means that they will wind up in lower-income communities with primarily Black and Hispanic residents. It's not racist to point out that unfortunate reality. Chicago has a long way to go in terms of cleaning up the streets and bringing down crime rates, but that job -assuming it's even possible at this point - will be made all the harder if ShotSpotter is removed. Mayor Johnson should set political correctness aside here and concentrate on what will keep the residents of his city safe.