The Public Safety Committee voted 2-1 to send to the full City Council a new $2.5 million, three-year contract with SoundThinking, the company behind ShotSpotter , which was deployed in Oakland in 2006. But Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, who voted no, and Councilmember Carroll Fife, who stepped away just before the vote, said they weren't convinced the technology is worth the city's investment.
The City Council will weigh the contract next Tuesday.
The consideration of a new contract comes as other cities across the country also rethink ShotSpotter's value.
Police officials say the technology alerts them to shooting scenes, allowing officers to provide swift medical aid to gunshot victims. Many times no one calls police to report the shootings, police and SoundThinking officials say. In the past three years, ShotSpotter directed police to 386 victims in shootings that were not called in within 15 minutes and within 1,000 feet of sensors, according to SoundThinking.
Police leaders also say ShotSpotter provides valuable intel on shootings that support the city's Ceasefire strategy. A key goal of the effort is to identify groups engaged in conflict to prevent shootings.
Critics, however, say ShotSpotter does little to deter gun violence or solve crimes. Oakland police officers took reports in connection with just 22% of the alerts last year, according to OPD data.
On Tuesday, the Public Safety Committee heard from two dozen community members. A little more than half spoke against ShotSpotter . Several supporters said they believe the technology saves lives, especially because many times residents, afraid of retaliation, don't call 911. Several critics said a better use of city funds is to invest in community-led efforts that prevent shootings, such as housing and mental health programs.
Councilmember Treva Reid, who previously supported a contract extension for ShotSpotter , said she supports the continued use of the technology. Reid spoke of the fatal shooting of her son and the constant fear of gun violence she and other East Oakland residents experience daily. The city must "exercise every tool" available to curb gun violence, save lives and hold perpetrators accountable, she said.
"One life saved is a positive outcome," she said.
Fife said she can't support technology that doesn't decrease gun violence. She recalled a time her daughter witnessed a shootout when she was in third grade.
"I want my family, I want your families, to be safe," she said, "and this does not pass muster for me."
Ramachandran said she's skeptical of ShotSpotter's effectiveness and believes police should prioritize 911 calls, especially since response times, even to emergencies, are slow. Then there are the city's financial woes, she said. "If we don't make sound financial cuts now," she said, basic "constituent services" will take a hit down the road.
"This is the beginning of a lot of very difficult choices," she said.
ShotSpotter uses microphone-equipped sensors to detect gunshots and triangulate where they came from. Dispatchers and officers are then alerted.
The system covers about 32% of the city, with many of the sensors located in areas in East and West Oakland that experience high rates of shootings, according to police.
Oakland's contract with SoundThinking expired June 30 , but the Police Department continues to use ShotSpotter .
In April, Oakland's Privacy Advisory Commission recommended that the city do away with ShotSpotter . In a 4-2 vote, the citizen group, which offers input on privacy matters, called on the city to divert the funds to other police resources.
Last year, ShotSpotter alerts led officers to at least 29 homicide scenes and 170 shooting scenes where victims survived, according to police data. In 181 instances, vehicles and homes were struck by gunfire. Most of the instances — 1,244 — were deemed negligent shootings, which include instances when someone fires a gun in the air. Officers confiscated 56 guns at scenes where they responded to a ShotSpotter alert.
One of the latest cities to pull the plug on the system is Chicago . The city's mayor, Brandon Johnson , who successfully pushed for the city to drop ShotSpotter , said he wanted the city to explore "better options that save more lives" and deter violent crime.
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