New gunshot detection program in Chicago seeks city approval
CHICAGO – A brand new gunshot detection program could soon be underway in Chicago if Mayor Brandon Johnson gives it the greenlight.
The new pilot is coming from Alarm.com, a company out of Washington, D.C., and they're offering it to one specific Chicago neighborhood free of charge for six months. What happens after that six months is up in the air.
Ald. Ray Lopez (15th Ward) held a press conference Monday in Back of the Yards showcasing a new gunshot detection program he hopes will soon be operating within a half square mile of his ward.
'This city used to be known for thinking big things. Well, this is the next generation of big things,' Lopez said. 'We are targeting the main areas within Back of the Yards that have the most consistent gun violence based on the public data readily available.'
ShotSpotter plays key role in shooting investigation in Elmwood Park
As previously mentioned, Alarm.com's pilot program would come free of cost to the city, but only for six months. Once that six months is up, it's unclear how the costs would stack up, with the company saying they don't bid on RFI processes.
Chicago is still trying to find a replacement for ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system that cost about $9 million a year. Johnson claimed ShotSpotter was overpriced and unreliable and the city did away with it last year.
'We are aware that there are RFIs, RFPs and every other RFQ out there in the moment. By the time the city gets through the legalese necessary to pick what comes next, installation won't happen until the fall,' Lopez said.
Some alders fear the RFI is a case of going through the motions, with one requirement being a ShotSpotter replacement must cover the entire 235 square miles of the city, which some said isn't plausible as sensor capability is lowered downtown due to skyscrapers.
The technology being offered here, however, is different from ShotSpotter as it's a two-step process.
How ShotSpotter impacted a Chicago murder case
A loud bang like that of a gunshot, or the sound of a blank being fired, won't be enough on its own to set off a sensor, as the sound must be accompanied by infrared detection of a muzzle flare.
When a legitimate gunshot is noted, human intervention isn't needed. For example, the technology can automatically deploy drones. The data is then sent immediately to the Chicago Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management Communications.
Critics, however, said any contract the city enters into should be independently tested.
Jose Manuel Almanza, a community organizer and member of the Stop ShotSpotter Coalition, said technology like this could potentially lead to people being wrongfully put in jail, saying even 'free' can come at a cost.
'Let [the Office of the Inspector General] test it out and prove to the City of Chicago that it's worth our taxpayers, and I'm willing to bet they will not do that because it's not,' Almanza said. 'In those six months, that could happen to anyone else. What's going to happen to those individuals that get wrongfully imprisoned because of a false positive or something related to this? And to me, that's just not worth it.'
Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines
There also appears to be some discrepancy on how the technology responds to fireworks and WGN News currently does not have a breakdown from the company regarding a rate of false positives or negatives.
WGN has reached out to both the mayor's office and CPD Supt. Larry Snelling's office for comment, but has not yet heard back.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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