by Lauryn Bray
The City will not be including the installation of ShotSpotter or other acoustic gunshot locator systems (AGLS) in the next steps of Mayor Bruce Harrell’s proposed Crime Prevention Technology pilot program (CPTP), according to a statement released by the mayor’s office last week.
The news comes after years of back-and-forth between elected officials and community groups that have long advocated against the technology, arguing that it would exacerbate discriminatory policing practices in Communities of Color.
“Last fall, the City Council approved $1,800,000 to deploy crime prevention technologies in select neighborhoods,” the mayor’s May 31 statement states. “Now that more specific cost estimates have been received, only the CCTV and RTCC technologies will be implemented at this time. The acoustic gunshot locator system (AGLS) will not advance.”
Instead of ShotSpotter, Harrell’s CPTP will include a new real-time crime center (RTCC) and the installation of closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) in “targeted neighborhoods that suffer from a disproportionate amount of criminal activity.” Cameras are planned to be installed in the downtown Third Avenue corridor, the Chinatown-International District (CID), and on Aurora Avenue North. The CPTP will also expand the use of automated license plate readers (ALPR).
Disappointing results and research published on the inaccuracy of ShotSpotter and other AGLS have led to cities across the country suspending their contracts, stating that the cost of the system is not worth its ineffectiveness. Earlier this year, the Chicago Office of the Mayor announced that its contract with ShotSpotter would be renewed through Sept. 22 and then end immediately after. Chicago is where 13-year-old Adam Toledo was chased and fatally shot by police after a ShotSpotter alert caused them to pursue him as a suspect.
Harrell’s support for ShotSpotter dates back to at least July 2012 when Gregg Rowland, former senior vice president of sales and marketing at ShotSpotter, provided then-Councilmember Harrell with a budgetary price proposal for the estimated cost of installation. In 2012, the cost of setting up the technology was $10,000 per square mile with an annual subscription fee of $40,000 per square mile. Months later, former Mayor Mike McGinn proposed a $6.5 million public safety budget that included $950,000 in funding for implementing AGLS in Seattle. It was not successful.
Harrell’s CPTP program, part of his yet to be released One Seattle Safety Framework, is to “create a city where everyone, in every neighborhood, is safe and feels secure.”
“Seattle needs more options in our public safety toolkit, and this pilot will add proven, evidence-based solutions and technologies to help communities,” said Harrell in the statement. “We are proposing smart investments in targeted neighborhoods of the city where we can — and must — do more to address gun violence, human trafficking, and other persistent felony crimes. This package balances the need for action, expert advice, and the City’s budget reality to make a positive impact today and prepare us to do more in the future.”
Lauryn Bray is a writer and reporter for the South Seattle Emerald. She has a degree in English with a concentration in creative writing from CUNY Hunter College. She is from Sacramento, California, and has been living in King County since June 2022.
📸 Featured Image: Photo by lalito/Shutterstock.com.
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