Should Chicago buy a new gunshot detection system to replace ShotSpotter?

Context

Chicago used ShotSpotter, an acoustic gunshot detection system, for years before Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the city would not renew the contract (City of Chicago statement). The system was switched off in September 2024 after a short extension, and the city began removing sensors (ABC7 Chicago). The City Council had voted in September 2024 to give the police superintendent authority over the contract, a move the mayor said he would veto (Block Club Chicago).

By May 2026 the city still had no replacement. Chief Procurement Officer Sharla Roberts told alderpersons that contracts of this complexity typically take 18 to 24 months or longer to award, and that 15 firms responded to a request for information and nine to a request for proposals. The city had budgeted $13.9 million across two budgets for replacement technology (Chicago Sun-Times).

Alderpersons pressed for timelines, with Finance Chair Pat Dowell asking how much longer the process would take and Ald. Peter Chico saying lives are at risk. Supporters of the technology cite cases where police located shooting victims after a detection when no one called 911. Critics cite research and oversight reports questioning whether alerts produce evidence of gun crime often enough to justify the cost and the added police deployments.

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Arguments

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✓ Arguments for

Some shootings generate no 911 call at all

Verified

Alderpersons have cited specific incidents, including a shooting victim found at 47th and State after detection alerted police when no 911 call came in. In neighborhoods where residents are reluctant to call police, or where gunfire is common enough that people no longer report it, an acoustic alert may be the only trigger for a response. Supporters argue that a system delivering medical help minutes sooner can be decisive for survival after a gunshot wound, and that this benefit is separate from whether the technology helps solve crimes.

Sources

City Council members want Johnson to tackle replacing ShotSpotter (Chicago Sun-Times)

The money is already budgeted and the market has responded

Verified

Chicago set aside $13.9 million across two budgets for replacement technology, and the procurement drew 15 responses to an initial request for information and nine proposals. Supporters argue that the practical question is no longer whether to fund a system but whether the city will finish a process it started, and that leaving appropriated public safety money unspent for years while the procurement drags is its own failure of governance, regardless of which vendor ultimately wins.

Sources

City Council members want Johnson to tackle replacing ShotSpotter (Chicago Sun-Times)

A new contract can be written with better safeguards

Many criticisms of the previous system concerned how alerts were used: deployments into neighborhoods based on unverified alerts, limited data sharing and weak evaluation. Supporters argue that a new procurement is the moment to fix those problems by requiring published accuracy audits, independent evaluation, limits on how alerts may be used to justify stops, data retention rules and termination rights if performance targets are missed. Rejecting the technology outright, they contend, forfeits the leverage the city has right now to set those terms.

Sources

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✕ Arguments against

The city already concluded the technology was not worth it

Verified

Chicago decided not to renew the ShotSpotter contract and shut the system off in September 2024 after reviewing its performance. Opponents argue that nothing about the underlying technology has changed since then, and that the case against renewal, which centered on alerts that frequently did not produce evidence of a gun crime and on the police time consumed responding to them, applies equally to a competitor's product. Spending $13.9 million to reinstate a capability the city deliberately ended, they argue, requires new evidence, not new vendors.

Sources

Alert-driven deployments concentrate police contact by neighborhood

Sensors are installed in selected areas, so alerts and the police responses they generate fall disproportionately on those neighborhoods, regardless of whether a gun was actually fired. Opponents argue this produces repeated armed responses to unverified alerts in the same communities, raising the risk of dangerous encounters and eroding trust, while residents in other parts of the city experience nothing comparable. They contend the burden of proof should be high before the city rebuilds a system with that distributional effect.

Sources

Chicago ShotSpotter contract ends Sunday (ABC7 Chicago)

Spend the money on responses that treat causes

Detection tells police that a shot was fired; it does not prevent the shooting or provide follow-up care. Opponents argue that $13.9 million invested in violence interruption programs, trauma response, victim services, street lighting and youth employment addresses the conditions that produce gunfire, and that Chicago has community organizations able to expand quickly if funded. They also note the city has operated without the system since September 2024, which gives officials an evidence base for comparing outcomes rather than assuming the technology is essential.

Sources

City Council members want Johnson to tackle replacing ShotSpotter (Chicago Sun-Times)

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Where do you stand?

Chicago should procure a new gunshot detection system to replace the ShotSpotter technology it shut off in 2024.

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