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August 10, 2021

Should Chicago End Its Contract with ShotSpotter?

City Cast Chicago

Should Chicago End Its Contract with ShotSpotter?

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ShotSpotter is a technology that’s meant to detect the sound of gunfire and deploy police to that location. But reports from Northwestern University’s MacArthur Justice Center and Vice found errors in the technology’s reporting. Journalist and author Jamie Kalven also has reported that the location of the technology in the city reveals racial bias. Chicago’s contract with ShotSpotter was scheduled to expire this month, sparking activists to call on city officials to end the contract and stop using it in Chicago. But City Cast Chicago has learned something new about that contract. We talk to journalist Jamie Kalven about how ShotSpotter works, and activist Alyx Goodwin from Action Center on Race and the Economy.

Guests:

Jamie Kalven, Journalist, Author, Founder, The Invisible Institute

Alyx Goodwin, Senior Organizer, Action Center on Race and the Economy

City of Chicago's contract with ShotSpotter


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