ShotSpotter and Deputy Mayor of Community Safety Garien Gatewood (Photo Credits: chicagojustice.org and Chicago Mayor’s Office).
This Sunday marks two weeks since Chicago officially ended its contract with ShotSpotter, fulfilling Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign promise.
Depending on who you talk to, ShotSpotter’s end either means that police response to shootings will be hindered, ultimately leading to an uptick in crime, or without it, Black and Brown communities won’t be overpoliced. The city is doing away with a technology whose effectiveness has been questioned.
Mayor Johnson recently issued a request for information (RFI) for the city to obtain recommendations for alternatives to ShotSpotter, referred to as “first responder technology.”
Officials have gathered information from leaders in other municipalities, such as Houston, Seattle, Portland and San Antonio, that have ended or shelved plans to deploy ShotSpotter.
Earlier this year, Houston Mayor John Whitmire called the tool “a gimmick,” questioning its efficacy. Recently, Johnson decried ShotSpotter as merely “a walkie-talkie on a pole.”
“The ultimate goal is to deploy resources on the most effective strategies and tactics proven to accelerate the current downward trend in violent crime. We have to explore better options that save more lives,” said Mayor Johnson. “Through this RFI process, the City of Chicago will be able to aggressively look at equitable alternatives to help first responders acquire the absolute best community safety resources to aid them in reaching and responding to emergency scenes.”
Recently, the Chicago Defender spoke with Deputy Mayor of Community Safety Garien Gatewood about the mayor’s decision to end ShotSpotter, the pushback he received from City Council Members and their exact goal in locating an alternative to the gun detection tool.
This is Part 1 of our conversation. Part 2 will be published on Sunday, Oct. 6.
Tacuma Roeback: I’d like to start with three statements that I’d like you to respond to. The first is the notion that Chicago is vulnerable without ShotSpotter. The second is an alderman, who was reported as saying, “I want to protect my residents. I want to protect everybody in the city. And maybe there are options we can look at—but we don’t just snatch it.” Then, CPD data found that Shot Spotter correctly identified gunfire in 99.6% of the nearly 30,000 alerts between January and August. How would you respond to those statements?
Deputy Mayor Garien Gatewood: So I would disagree with that, and the reason I would disagree with that is because of the work of the city, the work of the Chicago Police Department, and our partnerships, our community violence interrupters, our folks on the ground, and the work that happens, the level of crime and the level of decreasing crime that we have seen is not based on one piece of technology.
It’s based on the work that has happened between all of these agencies and community members partnering together. Obviously, these times call for deeper partnership and deeper collaboration. We do know that it’s important that when folks see issues, or they hear of issues, they call the police and that the police respond. Obviously, our police know how to respond. We have great leadership with Supt. (Larry) Snelling and his whole leadership team. So, no, the city is not vulnerable. This is not doomsday. The city is prepared to continue to show up for all 2.7 million folks in the city of Chicago.
Roeback: It was reported that Supt. Snelling was indeed in favor of the technology. What’s your response to that, and even his endorsement of it?
Deputy Mayor Gatewood: How I would respond to that is the superintendent has made clear that the Chicago Police Department will continue to show up for the residents of the city of Chicago, regardless of the piece of technology. And we all want people to call 911. We want to keep showing up for the citizens of Chicago. You’ve probably seen a statement that came out Sunday night (Sept. 22), which reiterated that it’s time that we continue to build the relationships we have with communities. We continue to show up.
READ: Exclusive Q&A: Ralph Clark on ShotSpotter Controversy and City Council Vote
Roeback: There were comments by some aldermen who say that they see (ShotSpotter) as a way to protect their residents, what would you say to that alderman I quoted?
Deputy Mayor Gatewood: Well, what I would say in general, and not just to the alderman you quoted because I don’t know who that is.
Roeback: It’s attributed to [Ald. Monique Scott (24th)].
Deputy Mayor Gatewood: We’re always happy to work with Alderman Scott. We’ve done a lot of work with her in her community, from standing up Emergency Assistance Centers to building out our rapid response protocol hand-in-hand with her team. And we’ve done a lot of work in North Lawndale.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]We’re going to continue to show up for the folks throughout her ward and other wards because we do know it is important that we work together in collaboration. That’s the relationship we have had with the aldermen, especially in our office, and we’ll continue to have that relationship and continue to show up for people. [/perfectpullquote]
Roeback: Then there was data from CPD that said the ShotSpotter correctly identified gunfire in 99.6% of nearly 30,000 alerts between January and August. There have been questions about its efficacy. But what would you say to that?
Deputy Mayor Gatewood: We have this RFI coming out so we can continue to look at technology that shows up to people in the city of Chicago. I would have to review that data that says 99.6% accuracy, and we would have to measure what accuracy actually means and what the outcomes and the results of those visits were. How did that lead to safety for the people who were there? And then also looking at how we respond to other 911 calls that were in that same vicinity that were both related to gunshots and not related to gunshots.
We’re focused on what alternatives are out here, what options are out here, and trying to see what technology is available for the people in the city of Chicago. That’s our focal point, and we’re going to do that hand-in-hand with the Chicago Police Department, communities and other leaders.
Roeback: Now that ShotSpotter is no longer in use. What is the city doing now to make sure that safety isn’t affected, especially in those areas that really relied on it?
Deputy Mayor Gatewood: Let me be clear on this. We say, some areas really relied on it. These areas have always relied on community police partnership, and we will continue to make those relationships stronger because it’s important.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]I know I’ve said it a few times that we continue to show up for the people of Chicago, and it’s not just about technology. It was never, ever going to be just about technology. What I will also say is that if we have a conversation about technology in general, the investments that this mayor has made in policing, we’re already seeing a lot of the results from that. [/perfectpullquote]
We have gone so far along without having updated technology and equipment like helicopters, right? And we’ve had some helicopters out of date. I’m sure you saw the press conference. We unveiled the new helicopter for the Chicago Police Department. We have two more coming in December.
Obviously, we continue to have our license plate readers, and we obviously still have our cameras. We still have the people who show up for the people in these neighborhoods. And we’re going to continue to do that work together. So, it was never one piece of technology that led to the downward trend in crime that we had seen. What leads to this is the partnerships we will have and will continue to have going forward.
Part 2 of this Q&A will be published on Sunday, Oct. 6.