“The decision has been made,” he said. “Administrations of the past have not been as focused as I have been on getting to the root causes of violence.”

A series of studies, reports and lawsuits have built up and broken down the case against ShotSpotter.

Like Snelling, ShotSpotter’s proponents tout its potential to save lives by speeding up police responses. In the last three years, CPD officers responding to a ShotSpotter alert rendered lifesaving medical aid 430 times, according to the Police Department.

They also flag findings from a recent Justice Department study that the technology’s alerts bring police to crime scenes faster and keep them there longer. However, the same study determined the tool does not reduce gun violence or improve CPD’s clearance rate.

A recent CPD analysis found that the vast majority of ShotSpotter alerts in the Englewood and Gresham districts — 80% — did not have an accompanying 911 call from a citizen.

A working paper from Ph.D. candidates at the University of California at Santa Barbara found that the flood of ShotSpotter alerts in Chicago resulted in longer police response times — and thus, a decrease in arrests stemming from 911 calls. Attorneys from the MacArthur Justice Center, which is suing the city in a bid to end its use of ShotSpotter, highlight the finding as a way ShotSpotter makes police less efficient.

The criticism is echoed by Ald. William Hall, 6th, whose ward through early April is home to the most shooting victimizations throughout the city. He criticized ShotSpotter for not leading to more arrests and convictions.

“What we need is justice,” he said, adding that the money spent on ShotSpotter should instead be used to prevent violence. “What this mayor is trying to do, and which I solely support, is invest in things that prevent people from picking up a gun.”

“I would rather spend money on infrastructure, job creation, cultural infusion and young people, young people initiatives, than to spend millions of dollars on technology that does not deliver,” he said. “We don’t need to be alerted when people get shot. We need to do whatever we can to keep people from shooting.”

However, Hall’s backing of the mayor’s plan to oust ShotSpotter makes him a rare voice among peers leading violent wards.

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