Blab Tech
Detroit Police Seek $2 Million Extension for ShotSpotter Amid Questions About Effectiveness
Detroit Police Department officials have asked city leaders to grant a nine‑month extension to their ShotSpotter gun‑detection contract, adding another $2.06 million to the municipal budget. The request comes as officials, researchers, and residents weigh the system’s influence on arrests, public safety, and fiscal responsibility.
ShotSpotter—now rebranded as SoundThinking, Inc.—relies on a network of acoustic sensors that pinpoint the location of gunfire and immediately alert officers. The partnership began in 2020, with full deployment achieved in 2021. By 2022, a 5‑4 vote by the City Council expanded coverage to roughly 39 square miles, about one‑third of Detroit’s total area. The existing contract, set to expire on June 30 2026, has cost the city $7 million over four years.
During a City Council committee meeting on May 18 2026, police officials highlighted that the system had generated hundreds of search warrants and led to the confiscation of firearms in 2025. Chief Todd Bettison cited 78 arrests during that meeting and 256 arrests during a March 23 budget briefing, but the department has not released data to confirm those numbers.
Researchers Divya Ramjee and Tian An Wong, who examined the first two years of ShotSpotter in Detroit, found that the system’s alerts produced only a handful of arrests. Their analysis of 5,853 alerts from February 2018 to November 2022 revealed that just two alerts—0.03 %—resulted in an arrest, while 798 alerts—13.63 %—led to a firearm being recovered. They also noted no measurable improvement in officer response times.
The same study reported a 47 % drop in 911 calls for gunshots in neighborhoods where ShotSpotter was first deployed in 2021. However, the effect faded after about a year, and call volumes returned to pre‑deployment levels. The researchers did not analyze data from the 2023 expansion of the system.
Bettison’s statements that the system has led to “dozens or hundreds of arrests” in 2025 are based on a period outside the researchers’ data set. The department’s FOIA records only extend to November 2022, and updated figures for the later period have not yet been released.
Independent studies of ShotSpotter in other U.S. cities have raised similar concerns. Chicago, San Antonio, Houston, Baton Rouge, Charlotte, and Portland have either terminated or decided not to renew their contracts. In New York City, a June 2024 audit found insufficient evidence to justify continued investment, yet the New York Police Department renewed its contract for an additional three years at a cost of roughly $21.8 million.
Data ownership and transparency remain contentious. SoundThinking claims that raw audio, algorithms, and other system data are proprietary. The company shares only alerts, locations, timestamps, and short audio clips with police agencies. Prosecutors, defense attorneys, and courts may access incident data as part of criminal proceedings, but cities do not automatically own the data. Detroit’s open‑data portal provides a dataset of 911 calls that includes ShotSpotter‑initiated alerts, but it redacts personal identifiers. Detailed dispatch logs or arrest outcomes require a FOIA request.
The city’s decision to extend the contract hinges on a cost‑benefit assessment that weighs the $2.06 million extension against the limited arrest and firearm recovery rates reported by researchers. City officials have indicated that they are also evaluating alternative vendors for gun‑detection technology.
As the contract expiration approaches, Detroit residents and city officials await the outcome of the extension vote. The city’s next steps will determine whether ShotSpotter remains a key component of Detroit’s strategy to address gun violence or whether the city will pursue other technological solutions.
ShotSpotter—now rebranded as SoundThinking, Inc.—relies on a network of acoustic sensors that pinpoint the location of gunfire and immediately alert officers. The partnership began in 2020, with full deployment achieved in 2021. By 2022, a 5‑4 vote by the City Council expanded coverage to roughly 39 square miles, about one‑third of Detroit’s total area. The existing contract, set to expire on June 30 2026, has cost the city $7 million over four years.
During a City Council committee meeting on May 18 2026, police officials highlighted that the system had generated hundreds of search warrants and led to the confiscation of firearms in 2025. Chief Todd Bettison cited 78 arrests during that meeting and 256 arrests during a March 23 budget briefing, but the department has not released data to confirm those numbers.
Researchers Divya Ramjee and Tian An Wong, who examined the first two years of ShotSpotter in Detroit, found that the system’s alerts produced only a handful of arrests. Their analysis of 5,853 alerts from February 2018 to November 2022 revealed that just two alerts—0.03 %—resulted in an arrest, while 798 alerts—13.63 %—led to a firearm being recovered. They also noted no measurable improvement in officer response times.
The same study reported a 47 % drop in 911 calls for gunshots in neighborhoods where ShotSpotter was first deployed in 2021. However, the effect faded after about a year, and call volumes returned to pre‑deployment levels. The researchers did not analyze data from the 2023 expansion of the system.
Bettison’s statements that the system has led to “dozens or hundreds of arrests” in 2025 are based on a period outside the researchers’ data set. The department’s FOIA records only extend to November 2022, and updated figures for the later period have not yet been released.
Independent studies of ShotSpotter in other U.S. cities have raised similar concerns. Chicago, San Antonio, Houston, Baton Rouge, Charlotte, and Portland have either terminated or decided not to renew their contracts. In New York City, a June 2024 audit found insufficient evidence to justify continued investment, yet the New York Police Department renewed its contract for an additional three years at a cost of roughly $21.8 million.
Data ownership and transparency remain contentious. SoundThinking claims that raw audio, algorithms, and other system data are proprietary. The company shares only alerts, locations, timestamps, and short audio clips with police agencies. Prosecutors, defense attorneys, and courts may access incident data as part of criminal proceedings, but cities do not automatically own the data. Detroit’s open‑data portal provides a dataset of 911 calls that includes ShotSpotter‑initiated alerts, but it redacts personal identifiers. Detailed dispatch logs or arrest outcomes require a FOIA request.
The city’s decision to extend the contract hinges on a cost‑benefit assessment that weighs the $2.06 million extension against the limited arrest and firearm recovery rates reported by researchers. City officials have indicated that they are also evaluating alternative vendors for gun‑detection technology.
As the contract expiration approaches, Detroit residents and city officials await the outcome of the extension vote. The city’s next steps will determine whether ShotSpotter remains a key component of Detroit’s strategy to address gun violence or whether the city will pursue other technological solutions.
