Return of ShotSpotter? Durham to consider bringing back gunfire detection system

Durham City Council members on Thursday will discuss bringing back the gunfire detection technology. They have a three-year ShotSpotter contract on the table, which would cost more than $650,000 and over the same area as the pilot program.

Durham police data going back years shows almost one-third of shooting incidents happen in about 3% of the city's land mass around the Durham Police headquarters at 602 E. Main St. Those three square miles are where ShotSpotter was deployed -- and where police are asking to turn it back on.

According to the agenda item coming before Durham City Council, police say they want ShotSpotter back based on the results of the year-long pilot prgram that ended in December.

The data shows the median response time for police to respond to confirmed shootings in the ShotSpotter area was 271 seconds. That's 88 seconds faster than the response time there in the year before.

Police said there was very little change (in fact, there was a four-second increase) in response time for the rest of the city.

"The experience that Durham had with ShotSpotter in its first year shows the value of the system, and we're anxious to get back to work there," Chittum said. "If the vote indicates they want to resume ShotSpotter service, we could be back in action very quickly."

Critics of ShotSpotter said it increases police activity in communities of color and also brings up privacy concerns.

Chittum argues it's an effective tool.

"We very often help police locate gunshot wound victims who need immediate aid especially when no one else calls 911," he said.

Durham police also pointed out that during the pilot program, there were no complaints about officer conduct when responding to ShotSpotter alerts.

Shot Spotter is already being used in at least six other cities across North Carolina, including Fayetteville, Goldsboro, Greenville, Rocky Mount, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.

The three-year contract would cost about $650,000 in total. Thursday's work session starts at 1 p.m.