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A running, sourced timeline of how license-plate readers, body cams and AI policing tools are actually going — and what the failures cost taxpayers.

Timeline / entry

· Chicago, IL

Chicago switches off ShotSpotter after spending more than $53 million since 2018

Chicago’s contract with SoundThinking for the ShotSpotter gunshot-detection network ended September 22, 2024, followed by a two-month transition period. The city entered a $33 million, three-year contract in 2018; WTTW reported the city paid more than $53 million since 2018. In February 2024 Mayor Brandon Johnson signed a nine-month extension reported by the Sun-Times at $8.6 million, more than the previous year’s cost. A 2021 Office of Inspector General review of 50,176 alerts from January 2020 to May 2021 found 9.1 percent produced evidence of a gun-related crime. The City Council voted 34-14 in May to require a council vote before removal from any ward, and later voted 33-14 to rebuke Johnson’s decision; the mayor vowed a veto.

$53,000,000Contract spendreportednot on THE TABMore than $53 million paid since 2018, per city records as reported by WTTW. Not counted: the money bought a system in use until the contract expired; no termination fee or refund reported.

Also in Chicago, IL

10 entries over 6 yr 4 mo, oldest first. The gap is the time since the previous one.

  1. Chicago police decommission the Strategic Subject List after $3.8 million and ten years
  2. +3 monthsOIG advisory on CPD predictive risk models cites unreliability and decommissioning
  3. +4 monthsACLU sues Clearview AI; Chicago PD says it no longer uses the facial recognition tool
  4. +1 yr 3 moChicago OIG finds ShotSpotter rarely leads to evidence of gun crimes
  5. +10 monthsCook County holds hearing on ICE data broker use
  6. +2 yr 3 moChicago switches off ShotSpotter after spending more than $53 million since 2018 this entry
  7. +1 dayChicago Lets ShotSpotter Contract Expire After $49 Million in Spending
  8. +6 monthsFederal judge approves Clearview AI settlement paying class in company equity, valued at $51.75 million
  9. +5 monthsChicago pays $90,000 to settle class action over ShotSpotter-prompted stops
  10. +7 monthsChicago pays $500,000 to man charged with murder on the strength of a ShotSpotter alert

Sources

  1. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Ends City's ShotSpotter Contract — The Trace (thetrace.org)
  2. Mayor Johnson spends $8.6 million on nine-month ShotSpotter deal — more than entire past year's cost — Chicago Sun-Times, Feb 22, 2024 (chicago.suntimes.com)
  3. City Council Votes 33-14 to Again Rebuke Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Decision to Scrap ShotSpotter — WTTW, Sep 18, 2024 (news.wttw.com)[archive]

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