Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) held a live demonstration of a proposed gunshot technology pilot program between the City of Chicago and Alarm.com subsidiary Shooter Detection Systems at Davis Square Park on Monday, Jan. 13.
“This is a great day for the City of Chicago and a great day for public safety,” Lopez said. “Today, we reimagine what’s possible. I am excited to showcase this multi-pronged approach that incorporates acoustic technology, infrared technology, coordinated camera technology and drone deployment all without human intervention.”
The new system’s outdoor sensor system will be tested and run free of charge for six months in as-of-yet undisclosed locations in the Back-of-the-Yards neighborhood, courtesy of SDS. Another key goal is to demonstrate SDS’s indoor gunshot detection capabilities, he said.
The pilot launch date could begin as soon as mid-year, according to Matthew Zartman, vice president of Strategic Communication and Investor Relations at Alarm.com
“The planned pilot combines a deployment that includes outdoor gunshot detection sensors, indoor and outdoor video cameras and activates a drone with onboard video capability to provide a live feed from the location,” Zartman said.
SDS’s sensors are different from ShotSpotters due to its dual mode detection capability that detects the shockwave of a projectile traveling at supersonic speeds. Dual mode must “see” and “hear” a shot to alert the system. That means faster response times and lower false detection rates.
During the demonstration, Security Operations Manager Marquis McClure demonstrated how the system was able to differentiate between real gunshots detected and ignored similar sounds by popping balloons, shooting a nail into a board using a nail gun with no muzzle flash and finally, shot a prop gun with a blank bullet mimicking a .22 caliber cartridge.
The fired prop gun with its noise and muzzle flash was the only item that triggered the system, tripping a red dot showing the shot location on a diagram of a building on a large-screen television.
A letter of acceptance detailing the scope and value of the program will be filed with the Board of Ethics and the Department of Finance once final approval of coordination has been granted by the Johnson Administration as per Lopez’s press release dated Jan. 12.
“The mayor and I have not had a direct conversation about this but we will be engaging with his office and his Deputy Mayor of Public Safety,” Lopez said. “Once approval is had by all parties, the notifications will go straight to CPD. SDS will feed directly into CPD. It is fully integrable. No Chicago Police Department representative was present at the demonstration.
“All of this has been shared with the superintendent and the entire police department all the way down to the 9th District,” Lopez said.
He stated CPD won’t comment on something the administration isn’t moving forward with.
Lopez believes time is of the essence when it comes to reinstalling a gunshot detection tool that has been taken from police and will save lives.
“Why are we doing this now?” he asked. “Summer will be upon us, the weather will be getting warmer and you know that’s when we see more gun violence in the City of Chicago.”
Mayor Johnson asked for Requests for Information in September, at the same time he terminated the ShotSpotter service.
“We are aware that there are RFIs, Requests for Proposals, and Requests for Quotes out there at the moment,” Lopez said. “By the time the city gets through the legalese necessary to pick what comes next, installation won’t happen until the fall.”
Alarm.com’s willingness to give the city a free six-month pilot program is another reason Lopez is moving forward, he added.
“We are targeting areas within Back of the Yards that have the most consistent gun violence based on public data readily available,” Lopez said. “The mayor said ‘Show me a product and we’ll see how we can make it work.’ Well, there you have it. We’ve shown you, we’ve tested it and we’re ready to go.”
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