Mayor Bruce Harrell has shelved plans to install gunshot detection devices in Seattle, putting the controversial technology back on hold after years of debate at City Hall.
Several other technologies are due to hit Seattle streets soon as part of Harrell's broader “Crime Prevention Technology Pilot.” But gunshot detection is a hotly contested crime strategy both locally and nationally, with proponents viewing it as a way to make up for police shortages and opponents viewing it as a costly and inefficient way to lead to overpolicing.
The new equipment Harrell announced Friday includes closed-circuit cameras installed on Aurora Avenue North, downtown's Third Avenue corridor and in the Chinatown-International District. Harrell also announced an expansion of the city's automatic license plate readers and “real-time crime center” technology that aggregates a variety of data, dispatch and camera footage into a single map that the police department uses to pinpoint crime scenes as they occur.
While each technology has raised privacy concerns, the acoustic gunshot detection technology (often referred to by its patent name, “ShotSpotter”) has raised the most questions about its effectiveness and the impact it could have in the places where it is used.
The device is designed to alert the police department every time a microphone picks up a gunshot.
More than 150 cities use the technology, and SoundThinking, the company that makes ShotSpotter, claims it is 97% accurate.
But the technology has recently received some high-profile criticism. Houston Mayor John Whitmire recently called the technology a “gimmick” and announced plans to cancel ShotSpotter's $3.5 million contract. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has called for the devices to be phased out, but the City Council passed a bill that seeks to undermine the mayor's position.
SoundThinking has called the claims “false and misleading.” Other cities, including Cleveland and Newark, New Jersey, are expanding their adoption of the technology.
Harrell, meanwhile, has long been a proponent of greater adoption of technology in law enforcement and public safety: As a city council member, he was an early advocate for the use of body cameras for police officers.
His interest in ShotSpotter dates back to at least 2012, and he supported then-Mayor Ed Murray's announcement in 2016 of his intention to use it on Seattle streets.
But questions about the cost and over-policing of communities of color have always derailed the plan.
Harrell's concern as mayor of Seattle continues comes as the city faces a rise in shootings and cuts to police resources: Gun violence is up 13.4% so far this year compared to the same period last year, even as overall crime is down.
Governor Harrell narrowly approved a $1.8 million spending bill for surveillance technology in the 2024 budget last year, sparking a public comment period that was extended several times due to the overwhelming response, both in favor and against.
Harrell's office said in a statement Friday that the decision to shelve gunshot-location technology comes after he “received more specific cost estimates” for the suite of technologies he wants to deploy. The decision to prioritize cameras and license plate readers followed “a thorough public engagement, research review and cost analysis process,” the statement said.
Carrie Craighead, a spokeswoman for Harrell, said the decision was based on available funding.
“This package balances the need for action, expert advice and the city's budget realities to make a positive impact today and set us up to do even more in the future,” Harrell said.
Soundthinking CEO Ralph Clark said he was “disappointed” by the decision but respected it.
“The city has limited resources and funding,” said Clark, who has previously donated to Harrell's political campaigns.
Criminal justice reform-oriented groups, including the ACLU of Washington, have opposed the ShotSpotter technology and the broader use of the cameras.
Tee Sanon, technology policy program director for the ACLU Washington, questioned the company's internal data on its effectiveness, saying gunshot-localization devices could lead officers to take unnecessary action, wasting time and resulting in overstretched police.
“It's definitely a good thing that we won't see ShotSpotters in our neighborhoods,” Sannon said Friday, “but it's important to remember that this technology is extremely harmful and ineffective, and not base our decision solely on cost estimates.”
Sanon also expressed concern about other technologies that are being pushed forward as a major expansion of surveillance networks without sufficient checks and balances.
For ShotSpotter supporters, Harrell's decision is a disappointment.
“For victims, this may provide another avenue for them to find who fired the gun or who killed someone,” Victoria Beach, public safety liaison for Seattle Police, said Friday.
