ShotSpotter contract with City of Chicago expires at midnight Saturday

CHICAGO (CBS) —The City of Chicago's contract with ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system, expires at midnight Saturday.

The process of dismantling roughly 2,000 of its sensors citywide will begin as early as Monday.

It appears to be the final chapter of a contentious debate between Mayor Brandon Johnson and several aldermen who fought to keep the service. It was a showdown over what some critics called shoddy technology.

This week, the city council voted to overturn Johnson's plan to eliminate the controversial system, giving Chicago Police Department Supt. Larry Snelling the power to secure a new contract.

The ordinance passed in the council, but Johnson says he will veto it.

Sticking to a campaign promise, Johnson is cutting ties with the system he insists was too expensive and ineffective. He even described it as "walkie-talkies" on sticks.

"We're going to find a pathway forward," he said Wednesday. "We are going to find technology that actually works."

ShotSpotter technology alerts police to the sound of gunfire faster than a 911 call.

It was just last week when the city released data on the effectiveness of the gunshot detection technology, showing that of the nearly 30,000 ShotSpotter alerts from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31 this year, evidence of crimes was often detected. Shell casings were found in the majority of responses, and 470 weapons were recovered.

Those stats are not enough to sway Johnson and his allies in the council.

"When they first came in, they said it was going to reduce violence, it was going to increase convictions. It did not do that. Even studies show it did not do that," said Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th).

Meanwhile, Ald. Ray Lopez (15th) is among the many proponents of the technology. He said he is now concerned about what will happen next.

"What will happen tomorrow or next week or in the next year as the gunshots continue to rain in the City of Chicago and no one calls 911? How many lives are we going to put in jeopardy because of this political promise?" Lopez said.

While the mayor has said he is looking into new technology to replace the current system, an actual replacement and a timeline for it to go into effect remains unclear.