ShotSpotter Violates Civil Rights? MA Senators Seek Inquiry Into Gunshot Tool

WORCESTER, MA — Members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation are asking a federal agency to review the effectiveness of the gunshot detection tool ShotSpotter, including whether it discriminates against people of color.

ShotSpotter has been in use in Worcester for a decade, helping police pinpoint where shootings are taking place using acoustic sensors. But those sensors are located almost exclusively in Worcester's poorest neighborhoods, many that are heavily Black and Latino, according to leaked data reviewed by Worcester Patch earlier this year.

U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Boston, on Tuesday asked the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general to review federal spending on ShotSpotter, and the tool violates a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"Studies have also shown that biased deployment of the system can perpetuate the over-policing and unjustified surveillance of communities of color, exposing residents to police interrogations, confrontation, and potentially creating dangerous situations for residents," the representatives said in news release Tuesday.

In Worcester, ShotSpotter sensors are located on the tops of schools, hospitals and businesses in an area roughly bound by Park Avenue, Lincoln Street, Cambridge Street and Plantation Street. Comparing sensor locations to Census data from the 2022 American Community Survey shows that more than half are located in Census tracts with poverty rates above the Worcester average of 19.3 percent. More than 66 percent of sensors are in tracts where the median household income is below Worcester’s 2022 median of $63,011.

On top of ShotSpotter acoustic gunshot detectors, Worcester also uses the company's ResourceRouter product (previously called ShotSpotter Connect), which tells officers where to spend extra time based on crime data. That tool has also been criticized as a way to over-police neighborhoods that already see high police activity. It's also hard for police to track exactly where ResourceRouter sends local police.

Worcester also recently launched a Crime Gun Intelligence Unit (CGIU) in response to a spate of fatal shootings. The company that makes ShotSpotter, SoundThinking, provides police with tips on how to create CGIUs, including how they should be structured.

Worcester interim Chief Paul Saucier has praised SoundThinking's tools, saying they help police respond better to crime. In a March interview, he emphasized ShotSpotter's ability to help police investigate gun crimes by pinpointing where shootings are happening, so police can collect evidence like shell casings. Saucier also said Worcester has no plans to stop using the tool.

Other departments are moving away from the technology. Chicago is ending its ShotSpotter program, and cities including Atlanta and Portland, Ore., have recently decided against using ShotSpotter, citing cost and the human resources it consumes.

According to the letter sent to DHS by the members of Congress, Cambridge, Chelsea, Somerville, and Boston have received federal money to pay for ShotSpotter.