The department said the gunshot detection system did not fit within its budget.
The gunshot detection system ShotSpotter will not be coming into Atlanta, according to local authorities.
The Atlanta Police Department told 11Alive they transferred the technology because of money, the second time the department has rejected the system.
Earlier this year, Atlanta received a free six-month trial of ShotSpotter, which touts that it can alert police to shootings before anyone calls the police, leading to faster arrests. But APD said it didn’t have room in its budget to adjust the system.
In its last trial in 2018, APD found that ShotSpotter’s duplicate gunshot reports were not worth the roughly $280,000 a year it costs.
Meanwhile, ShotSpotter said it has since made upgrades to the system to improve its efficiency, but has not released details of those upgrades.
APD told 11Alive, “The Atlanta Police Department welcomes the opportunity to pilot the ShotSpotter technology and will certainly consider re-evaluating it in the future.”
Police have yet to release the official results of the latest trial, including whether ShotSpotter helped them arrest anyone.
Meanwhile, ShotSpotter told 11Alive, “ShotSpotter continues to evolve its technology to ensure it works best for our clients. With an accuracy rate of 97% and a client retention rate of 99%, we are proud that our system works well and is supported by more than 135 cities across the country the trust of the police department, Enabling police to respond quickly and accurately ultimately helps officers save lives and collect critical evidence for investigations. “
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