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STOP SHOTSPOTTER

2021 | Response Video + Campaign | 2.5 minutes
Cancel the Contract Coalition
In-Conjunction with the #DefundCPD Campaign 2021 Demands
petition
Defund CPD
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More Resource on Police Surveillance 
endpolicesurveillance.com
chicagopolicesurveillance.com
ShotSpotter is a useless, expensive, racist audio surveillance technology used by the Chicago Police Department to further police and surveil mostly Black and Latinx communities. It fails to perform its stated purpose of reducing gun violence, and instead has cost Chicago $33 million, 20,000+ dead-end CPD deployments a year, and heightened and even fatal police presence in Chicago’s Black & Latinx neighborhoods.

The Coalition to Cancel the ShotSpotter contract calls on the City of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department to cancel the $9 million/year ShotSpotter contract for 2022 (that they renewed last December without telling anyone) and redirect that money to the Peace Book and Community Restoration Ordinance to effectively address the root causes of gun violence.

The bottom line is surveillance does not keep us safe. If ShotSpotter worked 100% of the time (which it doesn’t), it would at best respond AFTER gunfire. Like policing, ShotSpotter is reactionary, ineffective, and encourages violence. Technology like this only expands and invisiblizes policing under the myth of tech-based neutrality and objectivity.
Graphics by EndPoliceSurveillance.com
Art by @olivialovelier
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October 27, 2021 -- "City Hall Haunting" Rally and March ahead of the FY2022 Budget Vote. Photo by Thoughtpoet.
December 19, 2021 -- Christmas Caroling to Cancel the Contract
Related Podcast Episodes
Speakers:
Tynetta Muhammad | BYP100
Alyx Goodwin | ACRE, BYP100, & LEFT OUT Magazine
Caullen Hudson | SoapBox
Written, Directed, & Produced by Caullen Hudson
Cinematography James Edward Murray
Editing & Color by James Edward Murray
Additional Footage by Caullen Hudson
Photos on this Page by Thoughtpoet

"Why invest in ShotSpotter when you can invest in us?" 
ALYX GOODWIN | Writer, Organizer, & Activist - ACRE & BYP100

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© 2025 SoapBox Productions and Organizing
1006 S Michigan Ave Suite 604
Chicago, Illinois 60605
501(c)3 | EIN: 82-4144067​
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  • Home
  • Productions
    • Film >
      • One Million Experiments
      • No Cop Academy: The Documentary
      • Chi DNA
      • Seguimos Aquí
      • Calvin's Story
      • What's Beef?
      • Blue Notes
    • SoapBox Action Works
    • Commercials & PSAs >
      • NewRoot
      • Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
      • Nike
      • Save Antibiotics
      • First Wheels
  • Organizing
    • SoapBox Action Works >
      • 2024 Elections
      • Bring Chicago Home
      • Sh*t Talks: Studio Sessions
      • Coalition to Decarcerate IL
      • The Final 5 Campaign
      • "We Are More"
      • Erase the Database
      • Defund CPD
      • Obama CBA
      • 2020 Uprisings
      • 2020: COVID-19
      • 2020 Census
      • Crossroads Fund
      • Judges Matter
      • #NoCopAcademy
      • Archives
    • Education & Workshops
    • Live Events >
      • Chi DNA Speaker Series
      • Fitness Against Fascism
  • Podcast
    • About
    • All Episodes
    • Patreon
    • Linktree
  • Editorial
  • About
    • Mission & Model
    • Team
    • Press
    • Newsletter
    • Contact
    • linktree
  • Support
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