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 $10 million/year ShotSpotter contract (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

Related Podcast Episodes

Part Two Coming soon!

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