Crime & Safety
Pasadena Approves ‘ShotSpotter’ Tool For Police: Report
The controversial policing technology will allow the Pasadena Police Department to detect gunshots in the city.
PASADENA, CA — A new tool that allegedly identifies gunfire was approved Monday by the Pasadena City Council, the Pasadena Star-News reported.
Officials signed a $640,000, three-year contract with the company ShotSpotter to use its gun-detecting program in northwestern Pasadena. That part of the city has seen an uptick in gun-related violence recently, according to the Star-News.
The program has faced criticism from residents who say the system is seriously flawed. Critics claimed ShotSpotter would identify fireworks or a car backfiring as a gunshot, according to the paper.
Find out what's happening in Pasadenafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
A spokesperson for ShotSpotter reached out to Patch disputing the claims its system mistakenly identifies fireworks or any other sound as a gunshot.
"The ShotSpotter system is highly accurate, as it operates at a 97 percent aggregate accuracy rate for real-time detections across all customers," Izzy Olive said in an email. "Derived directly from police department reports submitted to ShotSpotter, this accuracy rate was independently verified by Edgeworth Analytics, a data science firm."
Find out what's happening in Pasadenafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Read more about Pasadena’s approval of ShotSpotter on the Pasadena Star-News website.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
