Tacoma PD to launch controversial ‘ShotSpotter’ tech in Hosmer area

Tacoma Police are planning to launch controversial ShotSpotter technology this fall, and the initial rollout will be only in the notorious Hosmer area.

TACOMA, Wash. - Tacoma Police are planning to launch controversial ShotSpotter technology this fall, and will be hosting a community meeting next week to outline details of the rollout.

According to the City of Tacoma, the deployment of ShotSpotter is designed to mitigate gun violence as part of Police Chief Avery Moore's Violent Crime Reduction Plan. ShotSpotter technology uses microphones to detect the sound of gunshots, then triangulates precise incident locations and informs police. The tech uses A.I. to rule out other sounds like car backfires, then a human worker makes the final call on sending an officer to a scene.

City officials argue that the real-time alerts "[enable] officers to promptly reach the scene, identify and aid victims, interview witnesses, collect crucial evidence, and, in some instances, apprehend armed and dangerous offenders."

The technology is not without its critics, however, who say it ramps up city surveillance on civilians, but does little to keep people safe. It's prompted some cities that were using the technology have to drop it, like Chicago.

The ACLU of Washington says the technology has no business in the state. They told FOX 13 Seattle back in April:

"Automated gunshot location systems like ShotSpotter do not reduce gun violence, and instead, they fuel racial disparity in policing and disproportionately harm Black and Brown communities. Through an extensive network of microphones placed in neighborhoods, this surveillance technology also poses risks to people’s privacy and civil liberties, and can chill free speech and deter free association. Cities in Washington should not line up to be a beta test for technology that has already been rejected by other cities like Chicago for being ineffective, dangerous, and an expensive waste of public funds."

"The equipment detects gunfire, and gunfire has no ethnicity to it. So, it will be based on the evidence that my entire crime plan has been based on," Moore responded at the time. "I am aware of harm from a police perspective, a community perspective, and it looks like in any way that this equipment does that, then the equipment won’t be here."

As expected, ShotSpotter will initially be launched only in the Hosmer area, which had become a notoriously crime-heavy area in town. Prior to the ShotSpotter discussions, Chief Moore previously directed officers to conduct frequent "hotspot" patrols in areas like South Hosmer Street in 2022, which Moore said led to a 30% drop in crime.

The Tacoma Police Department will be hosting a community meeting to discuss the details of ShotSpotter deployment, scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 21 and Thursday, Aug. 22 at the Tacoma Police Department 4-sector substation at 400 E 56th St, starting at 6:00 p.m.