A former Chicago police superintendent is leading an effort to keep ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system, in Chicago as the city's contract with the technology's provider is set to expire later this year.
"People are uneducated about what ShotSpotter really is," former CPD Supt. Eddie Johnson said.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson promised to end the city's relationship with ShotSpotter upon taking office, a move Eddie Johnson strongly opposes.
"I have people stop me all the time, asking me, 'well, I don't like it because it's a surveillance system.' But it's not. It's a gunshot detection, sound alert system, and I think that's part of the problem," Johnson said.
As part of his effort, Johnson has offered his voice to a lobbyist-led website, saveshotspotter.com.
"In some of these challenged areas that suffer a lot of gun violence, people will become desensitized to gunshots, they stop calling 911. And that's the fact, ShotSpotter replaces the citizens dialing 911," Johnson said.
Earlier this week, Mayor Johnson was asked about his decision to cancel the ShotSpotter contract in September, when he questioned the technology's effectiveness.
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"Did it stop shootings? It didn't. In fact, less than 1% of ShotSpotter alerts have actually led to an arrest. It just wasn't working," Mayor Johnson said.
Eddie Johnson said he's hoping Chicagoans reach out to their alderperson and encourage them to support keeping the technology.
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