Cambridge City Council Votes to End ShotSpotter Use Amid Privacy, Accuracy Concerns | News
Cambridge City Council Votes to End ShotSpotter Use Amid Privacy, Accuracy Concerns | News
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/5/20/cambridge-council-ends-shotspotter/
Publish Date: 2026-05-20 00:58:00
Source Domain: www.thecrimson.com
The Cambridge City Council narrowly voted Monday to end the city’s use of ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system that has drawn years of criticism from residents and councilors over privacy concerns and potential data-sharing with federal authorities.
The policy order, which passed in a 5-2-2 vote, directs City Manager Yi-An Huang ’05 to remove and disable ShotSpotter devices across Cambridge within 90 days of signing the measure.
More than 30 residents urged the Council to cancel the city’s contract with SoundThinking, ShotSpotter’s parent company, during public comment Monday. They argued that the system is inaccurate, intrusive, and incompatible with Cambridge’s surveillance and sanctuary city ordinances.
ShotSpotter uses audio sensors to detect loud, impulsive noises that may be gunfire. When the system identifies a possible gunshot, it alerts police and sends local departments a short audio clip of the sound.
The Cambridge Police Department began using ShotSpotter in 2014, and in the decade since, only 35 percent of the notifications sent through the system were confirmed as actual gunfire. The system has often mistaken other loud noises — including backfiring cars and popping balloons — for gunshots.
Councilor Ayah A. Al-Zubi ’23, the lead sponsor of the policy order, said the city should evaluate surveillance technologies against “measurable standards” — including accuracy, cost, or resident input, before adopting them.
“It’s got a higher false positive rate in our city and cities across the U.S., in which case I believe the benefit does not outweigh the risks of situations where our police department might be misled,” she said.
Acting Police Commissioner Pauline E. Wells urged councilors to keep the system in place, arguing that ShotSpotter gives police a tool to respond to gunfire when residents do not call 911.
“There have been at least 11 times when ShotSpotter detected gunfire in our city, and not a single 911 call came in —…
