Police records show ShotSpotter is wildly inaccurate in New York City

A report by Brooklyn Defender Services analyzing 62,000 NYPD ShotSpotter alerts over nine years found that only 16% of alerts were confirmed as gunfire, with guns recovered in less than 1% of cases and arrests in under 1%, while deployments disproportionately targeted predominantly Black neighborhoods. The findings highlight cost and accuracy concerns, including large spikes in false alerts during holidays, and contrast with continued use in some cities despite Chicago discontinuing the system.