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.
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
October 27, 2021 -- "City Hall Haunting" Rally and March ahead of the FY2022 Budget Vote. Photo by Thoughtpoet.
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December 19, 2021 -- Christmas Caroling to Cancel the Contract
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Related Podcast Episodes
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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 |
