Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is making good on a campaign promise by not renewing the city’s gunshot detection system, a win for progressive activists who have long championed holistic approaches to crime.
Johnson announced on Tuesday that the city will not renew its contract with ShotSpotter, which expires on Feb. 16, and will decommission the system of acoustic sensors on light poles throughout most of the South and West Side neighborhoods on Sept. 22.
Ahead of the sensors’ discontinuation in September, “law enforcement and other community safety stakeholders will assess tools and programs that effectively increase both safety and trust, and issue recommendations to that effect,” according to the Johnson administration.
Johnson ran a platform of shifting away from traditional public safety methods during the 2023 mayoral race. The decision to remove the gunshot sensors follows months of speculation as to whether the mayor would take holistic approaches to crime and police. He pledged on the campaign trail that he would cancel ShotSpotter, appealing to voters and community members who blamed the technology for a rise in police violence and its role in prosecution cases.
“Moving forward, the city of Chicago will deploy its resources on the most effective strategies and tactics proven to accelerate the current downward trend in violent crime,” Johnson’s statement reads. “Doing this work, in consultation with community, violence prevention organizations and law enforcement, provides a pathway to a better, stronger, safer Chicago for all.”
Grassroots activists have long been advocating the removal of the gunshot sensors. The argument resurfaced in full force in 2021 after a sensor alert in Little Village sent police officers after Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old who was fatally shot during the chase. The officer shot Toledo while he was putting his hands up, and he dropped or tossed the gun he was holding less than a second before the officer shot him, according to police bodycam footage. The shooting prompted mass protests and sparked outrage from Latino leaders and community members.
Kennedy Bartley, executive director of United Working Families, released a statement via the Chicago Tribune, praising the activist community for its instrumental work in the city abandoning ShotSpotter.
“Elections matter. Organizing matters,” Bartley said. “Today is a new day, where investments in evidence-based, holistic solutions that don’t just respond to violence but prevent it are driving our city’s public safety policy. We know a safer Chicago is on the horizon.”
The move is also likely to add further tension to Johnson’s relationship with law enforcement and pro-police city leaders, both of which have criticized Johnson’s approaches to crime. Supporters of ShotSpotter have long argued that the lack of the sensors, which help first responders trace gunshots, would make it harder to locate victims and offenders in time.
Several aldermen, Ald. Chris Taliaferro, Ald. David Moore, Ald. Anthony Beale, and Ald. Silvana Tabares, held a conference on Tuesday denouncing Johnson’s decision. They, like many, are arguing that this could make it harder for officers to respond to gun violence. Chicago police data show that there were almost 3,000 shootings in 2023.
“We’re losing the ability of our police responders and our first responders to respond to scenes much quicker than our traditional call-in to 911,” Taliaferro, a former Chicago police sergeant and chairman of Johnson’s police and fire committee in the City Council, told the local outlet. “When you lose that, the ability to quickly respond, then you also decrease the ability to save lives.”
Other aldermen had mixed reactions to the news. Ald. Walter Burnett said the expensive technology was deemed not worthwhile. The latest renewal last summer cost Chicago $10.2 million. Last month, police Superintendent Larry Snelling praised ShotSpotter and said it sped up responses to shootings and saved lives.
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However, the money for ShotSpotter may now be redirected to hire more police officers or add license plate readers to respond to the increase in carjackings, Burnett said.
“I know that the mayor is very concerned about supporting the superintendent,” Burnett said. “There’s a myriad of things the money can be used for that could be helpful.”