In NYC, ShotSpotter Still Doesn’t Work.

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Friend, On June 20th, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released a report confirming the NYPD’s ineffective deployment of ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology. ShotSpotter’s use in New York City is mainly successful at wasting money and officers’ time. For us at S.T.O.P., this does not come as a surprise. Two years ago, we released a research report titled ShotSpotter And The Misfires Of Gun Detection Technology. The “misfires” we identified in that report were still evident to Lander, who found that ShotSpotter dispatched officers based on false alarms 87% of the time over a nine-month period, leaving officers to spend 427 hours a month investigating unconfirmed reports. In the same nine-month period, ShotSpotter also missed more than 200 actual gunshot incidents. New York’s numbers are in no way an anomaly. After finding the same inadequacy, Chicago is set to stop using ShotSpotter in September. And Houston aims to cancel their contract after the mayor called ShotSpotter “a gimmick.” The NYPD’s current ShotSpotter contract is worth $22 million and is set to expire in December. They plan to renew it, saying, “non-renewal of ShotSpotter services may endanger the public.”  This couldn’t be farther from the truth. The technology does not facilitate any improvement for patient outcomes in shooting victims. Rather, like most police surveillance tools, its skewed deployment in Black and Latinx neighborhoods perpetuates racist policing and endangers community members. When officers are dispatched to what they think is the scene a gunshot but is actually a false alarm, innocent New Yorkers are at risk of bearing the consequences. In response to a Chicago ShotSpotter alert, police chased, shot, and killed a 13-year-old whose hands were empty when he was killed. ShotSpotter wouldn’t be worth using if it cost zero dollars. But it doesn’t. It costs millions. It’s time for the NYPD to say goodbye to ShotSpotter. To learn more about where ShotSpotter falls short, check out the Comptroller’s report and our 2022 report ShotSpotter And The Misfires Of Gun Detection Technology. With thanks, Gabe Quagliata Development and Communications AmeriCorps Fellow View this email in your browser Share Tweet Forward Copyright © 2023 STOP, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: STOP 40 Rector Street 9th Floor New York, NY 10006 NewsletterLeticia MurilloJuly 3, 2024 Facebook0 Twitter LinkedIn0 Reddit Tumblr 0 Likes Previous Catch S.T.O.P.’s Latest Op-Eds! NewsletterLeticia MurilloJuly 12, 2024 Next Read S.T.O.P.'s Latest Research Reports! NewsletterLeticia MurilloJune 28, 2024 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, Inc. 40 Rector Street 9th Floor New York, NY 10006 About Our Vision Our Team Our Work What We Say What We Do What We Want What We Blog Learn More Legislation Research Projects Privacy Toolkits Research Blog Get Involved Law Students Other Interns AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship Staff Openings Volunteers Connect Contact Us Request Training Request Help Media Donate Copyright© 2022, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, Inc. (STOP). All rights reserved. S.T.O.P.® is a registered trademark. The contents of the S.T.O.P. website (www.StopSpying.org) (the "Site") are provided for informational purposes only; nothing herein constitutes legal advice. No individual or entity should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in the Site without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on that recipient’s particular circumstances. The Site’s content contains general information and may not reflect current legal developments, verdicts and/or settlements. STOP expressly disclaims all liability to any person with respect to the Site’s contents, and with respect to any act or failure to act made in reliance on any information contained herein. Use of, and/or communication with the Site does not create or constitute an attorney-client relationship between STOP and any viewer or user of such information. Read our privacy policy here.