Detroit police look at expanding gunshot detection technology into downtown, southwest

In a May 18 meeting of the Detroit City Council’s Public Health and Safety Standing Committee, Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison told council members that a proposed extension to the city’s current contract for the gunshot detection technology ShotSpotter would not include an expansion to the geographic scope of the technology. 

That is true for the proposal currently on the table — but that extension is limited to only nine months as the city explores other options for which company to contract with for similar technology, Bettison explained. A Request for Proposal, or RFP, was issued on Feb. 16 by the city’s Office of Contracting and Procurement. It closed on March 31 with three bids: SoundThinking, which owns ShotSpotter, as well as Eagle Protection Agency and Motorola Solutions. 

More notably in that RFP is the intention to expand ShotSpotter into two new police precincts, 3 and 7, as well as an increased portion of precinct 4 — which together cover neighborhoods including the city’s downtown and southwest. 

Bettison did not mention the planned geographic expansion of gunshot detection technology to the committee in his testimony, nor did any other representative from the police department in two separate hearings about the nine-month extension. 

“The expansion zones seem to correlate with Precinct zones 3, 4 & 7,” a question on the Office of Contracting and Procurement’s bid opportunities portal notes, though the specific maps referenced are not visible to the public.

The Request for Proposal includes a required pilot from the chosen vendor in two scout car areas — one directly downtown, and another near Gratiot Woods. 

“The City mandates a live pilot deployment within the 3rd and 7th Precincts,” a response to public Q&A for the RFP states. “Vendors shall implement the pilot in the specified areas, identified as Area 312 and Area 705.”

Specifics contained within the documents for the RFP are not publicly available, though the Michigan Advance has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to gain access to those documents, which include maps of the intended expansion. The Detroit Police Department did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the proposed expansion via email, web form and text. 

However, publicly available Q&A responses note, in response to a question about portions of the expansion zones that border the Detroit River, that “The defined boundaries are fixed and not subject to change. Vendors must develop and propose a solution that provides gunshot detection coverage for the specified areas as provided.”

“When asked about geographic expansion under the current contract, DPD stated there would be none,” a spokesperson for the office of Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero, who chairs the Public Health and Safety committee and whose district includes part of the potential expansion, wrote in a statement. “Regarding the proposed new long-term contract extension, the Council Member plans to ask DPD how any changes, including geographic expansion, would help prevent crime and will evaluate any future proposals based on demonstrated effectiveness.”

The current ask — over $2 million to extend its contract with ShotSpotter for the gunshot detection technology for nine months while these proposals are evaluated — has stirred up questions from city council members and community organizers about privacy and surveillance concerns, as well as the steep price tag for the technology, though police leaders have continued to emphasize its importance as an investigative tool for the department.

That extension remains in the Public Health and Safety committee for the city council, and as of the committee’s meeting on Monday morning, will continue to be discussed at the June 22 meeting. The current contract expires on June 30. 

It’s unclear from public documents what the price tag would be on a new contract, whether that be a continued contract with SoundThinking or a new company, but with an expanded geographic scope, the cost to the city — already a point of contention raised by council members and community advocates alike — may increase as well. 

Currently, according to Detroit Police Department information, ShotSpotter covers approximately 39 square miles across the city. Pilot locations would add 2.24 square miles to the coverage area across precincts 3 and 7, and four additional scout car areas directly referenced in the Q&A would add at least another 4.28 square miles.