Detroit OKs $1.5M ShotSpotter renewal, delays vote on $7M expansion – By Sarah Rahal (The Detroit News) / Sept 27, 2022
Detroit — The Detroit City Council on Tuesday approved a $1.5 million renewal of the controversial ShotSpotter gunfire detection system and postponed a vote on a $7 million expansion of the program after a majority of public commenters at the meeting opposed the system aimed at combating crime in neighborhoods.
Following months of debate, the council voted 6-3 to approve funding to renew its $1.5 million contract in areas where the software is already deployed. Council members Gabriela Santiago-Romero, Mary Waters, and Angela Whitefield-Calloway voted against it. The three council members also voted against postponing the $7 million expansion vote to Oct. 4.
Police initially requested $8.5 million with the intention of using $7 million in federal pandemic relief funds for expanding the California-based system to nine additional Detroit neighborhoods and $1.5 million from the department’s general budget to continue the two existing systems ― one on the east side near Grosse Pointe and the other on the west side near Evergreen and Seven Mile.
ShotSpotter, an aerial gunfire detection system that uses sensors to pinpoint the locations of gunshot activity, is used in other major cities. Some council members argued the software was not effective in those cities where it was used.
