Houston Chronical Editorial Board Calls For ShotSpotter to Be “Axed For Good.”

A community member at the RISE Houston Campaign Kick-of reflects on who gets surveilled and criminalized the most.

On July 14, 2023, the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board joined Houston residents in demanding that the City of Houston axe its contract with ShotSpotter, Inc., for good.

RISE Houston’s stance is clear: ShotSpotter is ineffective, expensive, and dangerous surveillance technology.

Data reviewed by the Chronicle underscores our point:

The likelihood of a ShotSpotter alert resulting in an incident report — less than 20 percent — is about half the rate of traditional 911 calls….[O]ut of roughly 6,300 ShotSpotter alerts between December 2020 and March 2023, more than 80 percent were canceled, marked as unfounded, or closed because officers could not find evidence upon arrival.

The $3.5 million the City has pledged to waste on ShotSpotter should instead be spent, as the Editorial Board noted, “on alternative programs that make use of social services and outreach resources to combat violence.”

Read more here.