HOUSTON — Mayor John Whitmire said Tuesday he wants to cancel Houston’s $3.5 million ShotSpotter contract, calling the gunshot detection technology a “gimmick.”
“I’ll continue to call it a gimmick," he said. "I think it was one of those programs that was implemented to make people think we’re really fighting crime, but it doesn’t affect the crime rate."
ShotSpotter is currently used in parts of Aldine in north Harris County and a 5 square-mile area on Houston's southeast side. The technology uses “acoustic” sensors to detect and locate sounds that may represent gunfire, which are then reported to local law enforcement.
The city’s standing five-year contract with ShotSpotter’s parent company, SoundThinking, is set to end in 2027, but speaking to KHOU 11, Whitmire expressed his desire to end the contract early and use the money saved to support other law enforcement efforts.
“I want to take that savings if we can get out of the contract and put it towards a new cadet class, so we can’t afford to waste a criminal justice dollar,” he said. “We want to move in the area of technology but it has to be smart, accurate, and cost-effective.”
In a statement, SoundThinking said that while it respects Whitmire’s decision to not extend Houston’s contract, the company “believes his comments are misinformed and inaccurate.” ShotSpotter has helped Houston first responders locate at least 35 gunshot victims, according to SoundThinking.
“ShotSpotter’s effectiveness can be measured in the difference it makes for each life saved – and for these individuals, the tool was the difference between life and death, not a “gimmick,” the company said.
Whitmire’s comments come after a city council workshop Tuesday where there was discussion about the Houston police budget. Several council members expressed concerns about ShotSpotter to HPD’s interim Chief Larry Satterwhite.
While he explained that ShotSpotter technology had benefitted some gunshot victims, he revealed there were downsides. Satterwhite also acknowledged that ShotSpotter alerts which are coded as high priority sometimes diverted officers from other crimes, including burglaries in-process.
RELATED: Harris County says gunfire-detecting device has led to multiple seizures, arrests and charges
“I am still yet to tell you it is doing everything we want to it do," Satterwhite told councilmembers. "It’s a very expensive program and it covers a very small area.”
There have long been questions about accuracy and the need for ShotSpotter technology. Critics have said the program is too expensive and may strain police relationships with the communities the sensors are placed in. However, people who support the program have called it a “game changer” citing arrests made in connection to ShotSpotter.
HPD previously announced the ShotSpotter program generated more than 5,000 gunfire alerts and led to 99 arrests and 126 charges in a period from late 2020 to early 2023.
If Houston ends its current contract, it would follow other cities like San Antonio and New Orleans that previously terminated their ShotSpotter programs. Earlier this year, Chicago officials announced that the Windy City would not renew its contract for the gun detection technology.