Community members coordinated to pack Little Rock City Hall on Tuesday, where board members voted 5-3 to end the city’s contract with ShotSpotter.
Initially funded through a federal grant, Little Rock began its experiment with the “gunshot detection” sensors in 2018. ShotSpotter (now SoundThinking) has long been accused of steering federal grants toward local police departments in an effort to secure funding for the technology. Members of Congress are investigating this funding. EFF has long encouraged communities to follow the money that pays for police surveillance technology.
Now, faced with a $188,000 contract renewal using city funds, Little Rock has joined the growing number of cities nationwide that have rejected, ended, or called into question their use of the invasive, error-prone technology.
EFF has been a vocal critic of gunshot detection systems and extensively documented how ShotSpotter sensors risk capturing private conversations and enable discriminatory policing—ultimately calling on cities to stop using the technology.
This call has been echoed by grassroots advocates coordinating through networks like the National Stop ShotSpotter Coalition. Community organizers have dedicated countless hours to popular education, canvassing neighborhoods, and conducting strategic research to debunk the company’s spurious marketing claims.
Through that effort, Little Rock has now joined the ranks of cities throughout the country to reject surveillance technologies like gunshot detection that harm marginalized communities and fail time and time again to deliver meaningful public safety.
If you live in a city that’s also considering dropping (or installing) ShotSpotter, share this news with your community and local officials!
