Durham will no longer use ShotSpotter.
ShotSpotter, which uses hidden microphones to warn police about potential gunfire, has been controversial in Durham since its adoption. Critics argue it targets Black and Brown communities, because the listening devices are placed in neighborhoods in East and Southeast Durham.
The city council voted 4-2 Monday night to reject a three-month extension to an already existing 12-month contract. That extension would have allowed the city to continue to participate while researchers from the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke University complete an independent study of the system’s effectiveness.
Manju Rajendran, a Durham resident and long-time community activist, told the council that money from the program would be better spent on affordable housing and living wages for city workers.
“I don't think there's a reason why we need to go beyond this one-year mark. ShotSpotter gunshot surveillance has been sold to Black and Brown community members as a false solution to the gun violence and heartbreak that's hurting our communities,” Rajendran said during a public comment period.
Mayor Leonardo Williams and Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton were the only council members to vote in favor of the extension. Williams pleaded with his colleagues before the vote, saying ShotSpotter has saved lives.
“So, if someone does shoot [into] another household, if another 12-year-old girl gets shot, I only pray that someone calls 911 unlike they did the first time. And that is how these policies affect us personally,” he said. Williams was referring to a March shooting where a 12-year-old girl was shot outside a smoke shop in South Durham. Police found the girl collapsed in a parking lot after receiving a ShotSpotter alert.
According to a data dashboard created by the Durham Police Department, ShotSpotter recorded 1,196 “unique gunfire incidents” between December 2022 and last week, when the pilot program ended.
Winston-Salem and Fayetteville have introduced ShotSpotter in the past year. Fayetteville residents have raised similar concerns to people in Durham, especially after the system failed to alert officers to two deadly shootings.
The Durham City Council is likely to discuss ShotSpotter again in March, when the Duke study is released.
