Little Rock board hears hours of public comment on ShotSpotter, pauses debate over ordinance

The Little Rock City Board of Directors spent more than three hours of public comment and debate on April 1 over renewing and expanding a gunshot-detection contract with SoundThinking (commonly called ShotSpotter), associated drone purchases and broader surveillance policies.

Supporters, including the Pulaski County prosecuting office and the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, told the board the technology helps investigators and first responders reach scenes more quickly and has supported prosecutions. Opponents — neighborhood residents, civil liberties advocates, volunteer shelter workers and academic researchers — urged the board to refuse renewal, citing studies they said show high false‑alarm rates, racialized deployment and the risk of escalating police contact.

Why it matters: the ordinance under discussion would authorize continued use and a modest expansion of ShotSpotter’s coverage and related purchases. Board members raised legal and procedural questions about how the issue came back to the agenda, whether the item qualified as a sole‑source purchase, and what policy safeguards the city will require before adopting further surveillance systems.

Speakers described competing priorities: those concerned about violent crime and victims said any tool that helps investigators is valuable, while civil‑rights…