Public Safety committee approves five‑year ShotSpotter renewal after police describe investigative benefits

The Public Safety Committee of the Board of Alders approved a five‑year renewal Thursday to continue the city's subscription to ShotSpotter, the acoustic gunfire detection system police officials said helps officers find victims and collect ballistic evidence. Committee members moved the item, discussed operational and fiscal details, and approved the measure by voice vote.

Police presenters described ShotSpotter's function and footprint for the committee, noting the city first adopted the system in 2009 and has expanded coverage several times, most recently in 2022. "This shows the number of incidents in 2025. As you can see, there's 457 incidents for a total of 1,628 rounds of gunfire picked up," said Sergeant Jared Boyce, who outlined how the system uses acoustic sensors and human review to generate notifications that officers receive on their mobile devices.

Committee members asked about procurement and accuracy. An agency official said the department negotiated with ShotSpotter to avoid a planned price increase and estimated the negotiations would save about $257,000 over five years. When asked if the contract was sole source, presenters said the department renewed with ShotSpotter and did not present competing quotes at the meeting; the presenter added that some vendors provide similar services but not the full suite ShotSpotter offers.

Committee discussion emphasized operational outcomes and community safety. Supporters said the system narrows search areas for officers, improves evidence collection tied to NIBIN, and shortens response times; one committee member cited a roughly 30% year‑to‑date reduction in shootings. A committee member also described a personal instance where a ShotSpotter alert drew multiple officers to a home; presenters responded that the department distinguishes confirmed versus unfounded incidents in its reporting to limit misclassification.

The agenda packet listed the contract authorization as LM20260157: an order authorizing the mayor to enter a five‑year agreement with SoundThinking Inc. for an annual ShotSpotter subscription in the amount of $2,084,431. The committee moved to pass the item (motion made by Committee member S3, seconded by the Chair) and the chair declared, "the ayes have it."

The committee asked staff to continue monitoring performance and to report back on outcomes after implementation; presenters said analytics and officer verification are used to refine coverage and investigative value. The measure now moves forward per committee procedure for administrative completion.