CHICAGO — The city’s contract for ShotSpotter, a controversial gunshot detection service, is winding down — and officials still won’t say what they plan to do with it next.
ShotSpotter, a privately owned network of sensors that capture the sound of gunshots, has been credited by police for getting them to crime scenes faster and saving lives. The technology has also been critiqued in multiple studies and has drawn the ire of activists and community members who allege its faulty systems encourage over-policing.
The city’s contract with ShotSpotter, first signed in 2018, runs through Feb. 16, public records show. After multiple renewals, the original contract can no longer be extended.
City officials won’t say what they intend to do next with ShotSpotter.
A new competitive bidding process is needed for the city to sign a new contract with ShotSpotter or a similar firm, an endeavor that will likely stretch beyond Feb. 16. That could lead to a disruption in services even if Mayor Brandon Johnson ultimately looks to ink a new contract. The city’s Department of Procurement Services currently has no open bids for acoustic gunshot detection, according to city records.
Johnson was critical of ShotSpotter on the campaign trail, pledging to end the city’s use of the system. But since then his administration has quietly extended the contract.
Mayoral spokesperson Ronnie Reese said a decision about the ShotSpotter contract would come in mid-February but declined to answer specific questions on the contract’s status.
“At that time, the future of the contract will be determined,” Reese said in an emailed statement.
A spokesperson for the firm said the company is hopeful Johnson will rehire the company and find a way to keep Chicago’s network of gunshot sensors in operation.
“While SoundThinking has no knowledge regarding the city of Chicago’s final decision regarding acoustic gunshot detection, we stand ready to support the city in exploring all options to continue providing our life-saving services to the citizens of Chicago,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
The city’s contract with ShotSpotter has been renewed twice, according to public records. In June, the Sun-Times reported that Johnson approved the contract for another $10 million through Feb. 16. A top aide blamed the approval on an automatic signature.
That was the final renewal available for the ShotSpotter deal, according to clauses in the publicly available contract.
Johnson’s extension of ShotSpotter services in June was allowed for the purposes of “providing continuity of services and/or supply while procuring a replacement contract,” according to language in the contract.
A community meeting will be held Thursday regarding ShotSpotter technology and its use in Chicago. It is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Saint Sabina church, 1210 W. 78th Place, and is being organized by the city’s civilian-led public safety commission.
ShotSpotter operates in other major cities across the United States, with Chicago its second-largest client after New York City. The California-based firm rebranded itself as SoundThinking in April, less than a week after Johnson was elected and its stock price fell, according to the Sun-Times.
At a public meeting last month, police Supt. Larry Snelling — handpicked by Johnson — reaffirmed his support for ShotSpotter, which he said helps officers pinpoint and respond to crime scenes in the crucial minutes before 911 is called — or if 911 is not called at all.
“Because of this technology, officers have been able to get to scenes quicker and do outstanding work that people don’t even know they do,” Snelling said at the meeting.
But a 2021 MacArthur Justice Center study, frequently cited by ShotSpotter critics, said the firm has sent Chicago police officers to more than “40,000 dead-end deployments,” disproportionately in Black and Latinx communities. Also in 2021, a report by the city’s Inspector General found that less than 10 percent of ShotSpotter alerts were ultimately linked to evidence of a gun crime. A 2022 investigation by the Associated Press found ShotSpotter has missed gunfire underneath its sensors and has been used as key evidence in the wrongful jailing of some Chicagoans.
A top aide to Johnson met with ShotSpotter lobbyists in November ahead of the mayor’s first budget, which ultimately included funding that could be intended for the gunshot detection technology, according to South Side Weekly.
But Johnson has frequently played the middle on questions about ShotSpotter since taking office.
“Everybody knows my values and the concerns I have around ShotSpotter, everyone knows that,” Johnson said at an October press conference. “But as I said to Supt. Snelling, I’m willing to listen.”
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