Pompano Beach Stops the Use of ShotSpotter Gun Technology

By Attiyya Atkins

ShotSpotter, a tool used by Broward Sherriff’s Office to track gun shots with the goal of reducing gun violence in the city, was not renewed by the City of Pompano Beach.

ShotSpotter is a gunshot surveillance system that uses sensor-based technology to detect and locate outdoor gunfire in real time. Once the system is alerted, ShotSpotter employees verify the information and immediately contact law enforcement. The information is often shared within seconds.

The Sheriff’s office began using the technology in 2020 under a three-year program at a cost of $780,000 a year, according to city documents. ShotSpotter went live in March 2021 in the northwest section of Pompano. Northwest Pompano has the highest instances of gun violence within the city. At a March city commission meeting, the technology was not renewed due to questions of cost, effectiveness, and long-term feasibility.

Data provided by BSO Seargent Sharon Wesolowski at the March city commission meeting stated that in the past three years, the technology has responded to 1,349 cases, which led to 45 arrests, 32 involving firearms and two were for violent crimes.

Mayor Rex Hardin said the results were not insignificant, but were not as expected.

Instead, the city plans to pursue a recommendation from the city manager’s office to use more license plate readers and cameras that go to the real-time crime center which opened in 2021.

The real-time crime center has 630 closed-circuit TVs, pan-tilt-zoom cameras, and automated license plate readers. The state-of-the-art facility opened the year that the city implemented ShotSpotter, but the real-time cameras are not monitored 24/7.

Commissioner Beverly Perkins said at an April Northwest CRA Advisory meeting that she is advocating for the city to put the more than $750,000 the city will save from removing ShotSpotter into staffing to monitor the cameras.

Whitney Rawls, Chairman of the Northwest CRA Advisory committee, asked if the CRA could pick up the cost to keep ShotSpotter. Nguyen Tran, CRA director, said that it is a city decision.

Still, the Northwest CRA Advisory committee made a motion to recommend the city to reinstate ShotSpotter.

Since the March decision to not renew the program, Perkins has asked the commission to reconsider the motion.