SoundThinking, now worth around $232 million, has faced criticism for its ShotSpotter system, with activists and academics claiming it is inaccurate and disproportionately deployed in non-white neighborhoods. Investigations have found that ShotSpotter alerts largely resulted in dead ends for police and, in some cases, delayed response times for other calls for service. A study by the MacArthur Justice Center found that 89 percent of ShotSpotter alerts in Chicago did not lead to police finding evidence of a gun-related crime.
Key takeaways:
- SoundThinking, the company behind the gunshot-detection system ShotSpotter, is acquiring staff, patents, and customers of Geolitica, the firm that created the predictive policing software PredPol.
- The acquisition is part of SoundThinking's strategy to become a one-stop shop for policing tools, applying AI and machine learning technology to public safety.
- PredPol, developed in 2011, uses historical crime data to predict future crime locations, but has been criticized for reproducing and reinforcing biased policing patterns, particularly targeting low-income communities of color.
- SoundThinking's flagship product, ShotSpotter, has also faced criticism for its inaccuracy and disproportionate deployment in non-white neighborhoods, with studies showing that a significant majority of alerts do not lead to police finding evidence of a gun-related crime.