(WXYZ) — The Detroit Police Department is asking the city council for $7 million to expand its gunshot detection system.
The department currently uses ShotSpotter and according to the Detroit Police Chief, it had detected more than 25,000 gunshots resulting in more than 100 arrests and the removal of 300 guns from local streets.
But critics of the technology claim that it poses privacy concerns and may not be as effective. They also believe the money can be used in other ways to combat crime in the city neighborhoods.
"We need to address violent crime in our city, yes absolutely. But I’m not convinced that ShotSpotter is that solution," Detroit City Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero said.
"Before we spend $8 million on something that doesn’t work, let’s reinvest in our communities and prevent these situations from happening," Nat Dennis with Black Michigan Liberation said.
Utilizing COVID relief money, of the proposed $8.5 million, $7 million will go towards expanding the system to additional Detroit neighborhoods while the remaining will help run the existing system.
"A tool like this is a very valuable tool for our community," Detroit Police Chief James White said. "It’s a very valuable tool for our officers and it’s a tool we would like to expand in our communities to assist us in our crime-fighting efforts."
The current system covers 6.5 square miles. If voted in, the technology will be expanded to 28 square miles.
According to DPD data, areas where there ShotSpotters are located have seen fewer fatal shootings.
"We're able sometimes to prevent retaliatory shootings cause we know from experience that individuals do lie about where they're shot. So we can use our Shotspotter technology to go to those locations."
Meanwhile, a study last year in St. Louis by Southern Illinois University shows that from 2008 to early 2018 more than 19,000 ShotSpotter calls were reported but only 13 arrests were made.
The city council meeting will kick off Tuesday at 10 a.m. and the fate of ShotSpotter technology is part of the agenda.
