This article summarizes a research project aimed at determining the impacts and efficiency of ShotSpotter, gunshot detection technology, which is used by law enforcement agencies across the United States in hopes of responding faster to gun violence.
This article discusses research with implications for public safety, considering the popularity of ShotSpotter, which has been adopted by more than 170 cities and towns across the United States. The gunshot detection technology system, manufactured by SoundThinking, has led to criticisms that relate to the technology’s unreliability and its lack of improvement on public safety while leading to over-policing. The research presented in this brief article was designed to test the efficiency and the effectiveness of ShotSpotter, and discusses five key findings: ShotSpotter leads to faster police responses to gunfire; there was no increase in police enforcement compared with 911 phone calls; not all calls can be confirmed, for example, in Kansas City, ShotSpotter results were 15 percent more likely than 911 calls to be classified as “unfounded;” there was no increase in clearance rates for ShotSpotter target areas than in controls; and there was no reduction in gunshot victimization in ShotSpotter areas than in controls.