Alleging racial bias, state and US lawmakers call for probe into ShotSpotter system

WORCESTER — Several U.S. congressmen are questioning if a popular, federally-funded gunshot detection system being used by police departments across the country, including the Worcester Police Department, unfairly targets communities of color.

In a joint letter to Joseph V. Cuffari, inspector general of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Sens. Edward J. Markey, Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon; and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, all D-Mass, request an investigation of the ShotSpotter system.

Currently, through the Urban Area Security Initiative grant program, the Department of Homeland Security provides funding to localities to deploy the ShotSpotter system.

In the joint letter, the four politicians are seeking a determination whether ShotSpotter is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars.

Furthermore, they are seeking answers if funding the gunshot detection system potentially violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits recipients of federal financial assistance from discriminating based on race, color and national origin.

Not only does the letter allege that several recent reports have cast “substantial doubt” on the accuracy and effectiveness of the gunshot detection system, it questions whether it is contributing to “unjustified surveillance” and “overpolicing” of Black, brown and Latino communities.

Quoting an investigation published last month by the American Civil Liberties Union Massachusetts detailing Boston Police incidents from 2020 through 2022, the four politicians allege that ShotSpotter has contributed to “wrongful arrests and increased police stops, almost exclusively in Black and brown neighborhoods.”

In addition, the ACLU investigation alleges that ShotSpotter devices are predominantly located in Black and brown neighborhoods, which increases police activities into those neighborhoods even when there is “no evidence” a shooting occurred.

Wednesday, Interim Worcester Police Chief Paul B. Saucier said ShotSpotter is an appropriate and effective use of taxpayers’ dollars.

“Everybody deserves a police response to gunfire,” Saucier said. “And it has already been established that 85% of the time nobody calls the police.”

Calling the system an overwhelming success in Worcester, Saucier insists that if it wasn’t for ShotSpotter, the Worcester Police Department would not know where a lot of the gunfire in the city originated from.

And with the information provided by ShotSpotter, police can develop strategies to combat any type of gunfire, he said.

“We’ve had times we were called for shots fired and there’s no victim. Within 10 minutes, a body was dropped off at the hospital. Nobody called it in,” Saucier said. “Without ShotSpotter, we never would have had a crime scene and we were able to make arrests based on going to a crime scene, gathering evidence, gathering video and conducting a preliminary and extensive investigation afterwards.”

More importantly, ShotSpotter saves lives, Saucier said, because gunshot victims are being found faster and a higher level of medical aid is being administered sooner.

“The difference between a nonfatal shooting and a fatal shooting is shot placement and how quick emergency medical attention can be performed on the victim,” Saucier said. “The turnaround time for an activation from ShotSpotter is approximately one minute. And you have a pinpointed location of where you’re responding to.”

Saucier insists that the ShotSpotter system has nothing to do with targeting Black, brown or Latino communities and everything about saving lives.

“If anything, this is helping communities of color that, for years, have had gunshots going off and the police weren’t able to respond,” Saucier said. “Now we’re responding to those areas and we are saving lives. We are showing people that we care.”

ShotSpotter is also an effective community policing tool, Saucier said, and, without it, Worcester is at a huge disadvantage.

“Now, you have an elderly person or somebody with children. They hear gunshots. They’re protecting their kids. They look out the window. Now they see the police,” Saucier said. “At least they know the police care. They’re in their neighborhoods. And we’re doing everything we can to make sure there are no victims of gun violence.”

In 2014, the Worcester Police Department integrated ShotSpotter into the Real Time Crime Center. While ShotSpotter guarantees 90% accuracy in regards to shots fired, in Worcester, it has been 95% accurate, he said.

Stressing that ShotSpotter sensors are put in areas to protect the community, Saucier said he wishes that the three U.S. senators and U.S. representative who signed the letter had reached out and talked to law enforcement personnel who have been working with ShotSpotter for years and could tell them the benefits of having a solution like this in place.

“If they want to do a ride-along in Worcester, they can come anytime they like and we can show them how it works and then, they can make an informed decision,” Saucier said. “In my mind, I wouldn't give it (ShotSpotter) up for anything…Data drives police responses. And for us not to have that data is basically, handicapping the police department.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: State and US lawmakers call for probe into ShotSpotter system