ShotSpotter

ShotSpotter is a surveillance system that blankets select neighborhoods with microphones and is meant to detect the sound of gunfire and pinpoint its location. The system then sends alerts of supposed gunfire directly to local police to investigate.

Through a Freedom of Information request, the MacArthur Justice Foundation acquired data on ShotSpotter-related police deployments from July 1, 2019 through April 14, 2021 in the city of Chicago.

The over 46,000 ShotSpotter dispatches overwhelmingly target majority Black and Latinx communities, sending police on high alert for gun shots into already over-policed neighborhoods. And, though ShotSpotter claims 97% accuracy, the data shows 89% of ShotSpotter deployments turned up no gun-related crime, and 86% led to no report of any crime at all.

I developed a series of charts and maps to illustrate findings from the data. These are posted to endpolicesurveillance.com and incorporated into the Center's Amicus Brief.