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R-3573 · registry record · verified 2026-10-10

ShotSpotter alerts used to justify stops and frisks

ShotSpotter gunshot alerts used to justify investigatory stops and frisks, Chicago Police Department, Chicago, 2018–2021

Where
Chicago, Illinois, United States
When
2018–2021
System
ShotSpotter
Type of system
Machine learning (AI) classifier
Used by
Chicago Police Department
Domain
Policing
Who was affected
A group or population
People named
Not identified
Brought to light by
Internal or inspector-general audit, 2021-08-24
Remedy
Partial

Summary

Chicago's Office of Inspector General analysed more than 50,000 ShotSpotter alert and dispatch records from the Chicago Police Department. It found that 9% of alerts with a reported disposition indicated a gun-related offence, and that officers cited aggregate ShotSpotter alert frequency in an area as partial grounds for investigatory stops and pat-down frisks of civilians.

Sources

  1. Chicago Inspector General: Using ShotSpotter Does Not Justify Crime Fighting UtilityElectronic Frontier Foundation · Originating report
  2. OIG Finds That ShotSpotter Alerts Rarely Lead to Evidence of a Gun-Related Crime and That Presence of the Technology Changes Police BehaviorCity of Chicago Office of Inspector General · primary source
  3. The Chicago Police Department's Use of ShotSpotter TechnologyCity of Chicago Office of Inspector General · primary source

Tags

Record

First collected
2026-04-23
Last verified
2026-10-10
Verified by
Checked by the author against the sources

Cite this record

The Witnessed Sentence (2026). R-3573: ShotSpotter alerts used to justify stops and frisks. Registry record, verified 2026-10-10. https://witnessedsentence.org/registry/r-3573/

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