Chicago mayor seeking alternatives as city's ShotSpotter contract expires

CHICAGO - Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is exploring other options after the city's contract with ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection technology, expired.

The mayor's office announced Sunday that Johnson has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to gather recommendations for alternative first-response technologies.

ShotSpotter, owned by SoundThinking, Inc., was discontinued in Chicago at midnight on Sunday, Sept. 22.

"The ultimate goal is to deploy resources on the most effective strategies and tactics proven to accelerate the current downward trend in violent crime. We have to explore better options that save more lives," said Johnson in a statement. "Through this RFI process, the City of Chicago will be able to aggressively look at equitable alternatives to help first responders acquire the absolute best community safety resources to aid them in reaching and responding to emergency scenes."

Johnson's office is seeking RFI submissions from "qualified vendors with extensive experience in first-response technology."

To prepare for the transition away from ShotSpotter, the Mayor’s Office of Community Safety formed a working group earlier this year to address community safety concerns and explore alternative solutions.

This group includes city officials and community members with backgrounds in law enforcement and violence prevention.

"This working group has been and will continue to gather feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders and community leaders to assess tools and programs that effectively increase both safety and trust," said Deputy Mayor of Community Safety Garien Gatewood. "Chicago is not the first or the only big city to move away from this form of technology. We have been in communications with Seattle, Houston, San Antonio, and Portland – cities that have explored other options for technology – to discuss the strategies they are employing as alternatives." 

According to the mayor's office, options under consideration include:

• Investing in victim prevention and victim assistance programs in schools and hospitals
• Improving the monitoring capabilities and response times of first responders
• Investing in first responder personnel to work with communities to help resolve crimes
• Increasing funding for street-level outreach programs and hiring violence interrupters

The Chicago Police Department is reassuring the public that despite not utilizing ShotSpotter technology, it will not change how they respond to crime across the city:

"Effective Monday, September 23, 2024, at 12:01 am, the Chicago Police Department will no longer be utilizing ShotSpotter technology. This does not change our commitment to public safety and building stronger neighborhoods for all of our residents. Our hardworking officers will continue to respond to crime and work to stop the trauma of violence plaguing our communities.

"CPD frequently adjusts our public safety efforts based on the needs of our residents and the resources available to us. This is no different. As we move forward, we remind residents to call 911 with as much information and detail as possible when they hear loud reports that could resemble gunfire. It’s imperative that we all do our part to keep our city safe and protect our families."

According to the Illinois Policy Institute, from July 2023 until August 2024 in the areas of Johnson's home in Austin, Montclare and Belmont Cragin, 5,008 rounds were detected by ShotSpotter. 

"We see not only is support strong in Black and Brown communities in Chicago for ShotSpotter – it's strongest. So the question becomes, who is Brandon Johnson listening to when it comes to the ShotSpotter decision? Because it's certainly not the people in the communities that are experiencing the violence," said Austin Berg, with the institute.

Neighborhoods across Chicago that are relatively safer in terms of the amount of gunshots detected, those aldermen reportedly sided with Johnson to get rid of ShotSpotter.  

Just this weekend, eight people were shot in less than an hour in Chicago. Police were notified by ShotSpotter of one of the shootings, which happened in the 5400 block of South Paulina. 

RELATED: 8 shot, 1 fatally in less than an hour across Chicago, police say

That's when officers found a 44-year-old man wounded. He is now in good condition and a "person of interest" was taken into custody. 

Starting Monday, the company behind ShotSpotter, SoundThinking, Inc, will begin removing 2,000 gunshot detection sensors across the city.

Interested vendors for the City of Chicago can access the solicitation on the city’s iSupplier portal, where registration is required to participate in the eProcurement system.

This is a developing story and we'll bring more updates as they become available.