CTA to use AI for real-time gun detection ahead of ShotSpotter shutdown

CHICAGO - The CTA announced Thursday it will use artificial intelligence to detect and respond to potential gun threats in real time.

The move – which comes just weeks before the city's ShotSpotter technology is slated to go dark – is drawing both support and criticism.
 
The pilot program with gun detection video analytics platform ZeroEyes will use the CTA's existing surveillance camera system to alert security officials and law enforcement if a brandished firearm is detected.
 
Images of the suspected gunman, gun type, and location will be sent to the ZeroEyes Operations Center, where trained military and law enforcement veterans verify the threat before notifying local authorities.
 
The rapid-response system can alert police within a minute of detection, according to CTA officials, allowing for a swift response.
 
The AI-based technology – headquartered in Pennsylvania – was founded in 2018 by a team of former Navy SEALs.
 
ZeroEyes is already utilized in other major transit systems, schools, and Chicago's Navy Pier.
 
"I think what we’ve seen, not only with CTA, but with other local municipalities is that more and more people are relying on technology to fill the gaps where personnel cannot, and I think this is just a natural extension of that," said Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th Ward).
 
"Everybody knows that technology works. Everybody knows we are short officers," added Ald. David Moore (17th Ward). "What you do to replace that until you get up to scale is to use technology."
 
CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. said he hopes the new program can give riders peace of mind.
 
"Ensuring the safety and security of our riders and employees is our number one priority at the CTA, and this pilot allows us to explore how new technology may be able to support these efforts and further enhance already successful and effective technologies currently in place," Carter said in a statement.
 
The program is supported by a 12-month contract with ZeroEyes worth up to $200,000. It will involve 24/7 monitoring of multiple cameras across the rail system and will be funded by the CTA's annual operating security budget.
 
"The CTA has the ability to make these decisions on its own and I think in this case, I’m very glad that it did," said Lopez.
 
Lopez and Moore said keeping riders safe is what this is all about.
 
"The CTA is the microcosm of the entire city of Chicago," said Moore. "Just for people to be comfortable riding, and not being in an enclosed space where there’s opportunity for crime. This could definitely deter crime and also get criminals off the street."
 
CTA officials said Thursday the software does not utilize facial recognition technology.
 
Still, Ed Yohnka from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois isn’t sold.
 
"Where was the public discussion for this? Where was the discussion about spending $200,000 on a software system for a public transit system where people are troubled about whether the buses run on time," said Yohnka.
 
He adds that Chicago is already one of the most surveilled cities in the nation and feels it's getting out of hand.
 
"For 20+ years in this city, we’ve been promised that if we just add one more camera, one more piece of software, one more kind of technology, we’re all going to be safe," said Yohnka. "It never proves to be true."
 
As for ShotSpotter, city officials share it will be ‘lights out’ before September ends. That will be followed by what they are calling a ‘wind-down’ period.