Chicago has decided to stop using the controversial ShotSpotter gunshot detection system. This decision follows a petition from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), which raised concerns about the impact of acoustic gunshot detection tools on majority-minority neighborhoods.

“Acoustic gunshot detection tools have disparate impacts on majority-minority neighborhoods, increasing police activity in neighborhoods where sensors are placed, perpetuating patterns of policing practices,” the petition stated. EPIC also pointed out that civil rights laws prevent recipients of federal funds, such as local police agencies, from using methods that may seem neutral but have discriminatory effects based on race, color, or national origin.

Jeramie Scott, who leads EPIC's surveillance oversight project, criticized ShotSpotter for infringing on the privacy of poor and minority populations. “The result is undue surveillance and over-policing of marginalized communities while spending funds that could be spent on crime prevention programs instead,” Scott commented.

Scott further added that “Shotspotter alerts prime police to expect dangerous situations which raises the risk of harm to communities that are often already subject to a disproportionate amount of police force.”

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