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Fayetteville police report shows falling crime overall but sparks heated debate over ShotSpotter data and transparency
Summary
Police Chief Robert O'Brien told council on Oct. 27 that total crime is down more than 10% but homicides remain a concern (32 year-to-date) with a reported clearance rate of about 87.5%. Much of the meeting featured an extended exchange over ShotSpotter alerts, data recording and independent evaluations; council members pressed for clearer data and a more transparent performance framework.
Police Chief Robert O'Brien presented the police department’s third-quarter report on Oct. 27, covering Jan.–Sept. 2025. He told council that overall crime is down by more than 10% and arrests are down slightly, while homicides remain a pressing issue with 32 incidents year-to-date. The chief said the department’s homicide clearance rate is about 87.5%.
A large portion of the presentation and council discussion centered on the ShotSpotter acoustic detection system. Chief O'Brien described how analysts review alerts and explained that many alerts initially show as “blank” until shell casings or other evidence tie the alert to a specific incident. He said staff were reviewing 246 such alerts for the period cited and described an example in which officers found shell casings after no 911 call.
Council member Benavente questioned the program’s recordkeeping and pointed to independent evaluations that flagged gaps, calling local data collection “shoddy” and urging more balanced public presentations that include false positives and misclassifications. Benavente and others asked the chief for slide-level data to reconcile arrest reports and to show where alerts produced actionable evidence. The chief said 14 subjects were arrested in ShotSpotter-related incidents and that 13 of the 14 arrests involved a weapon; Benavente said the city attorney’s paperwork showed several arrestees were unarmed and asked the department to reconcile the discrepancy.
City staff said a working group including police, the Office of Community Safety and the city manager’s office was assembled to address data gaps identified after an independent study and to develop a more consistent framework for tracking ShotSpotter performance. Council member McNair moved to receive the police report; after further discussion the council voted unanimously to receive it.
Council members also asked about technology, traffic enforcement tools and disparities in stops and searches. The chief said the department is phasing additional SpeedCenturies, license-plate reader deployments and other camera technology and is working to present clearer, quarterly datasets on traffic stops, searches and outcomes.
