Brenden Moore
The State Journal-Register
ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology will soon go live on Springfield’s east side after the city council voted Tuesday to approve a three-year service agreement with the Newark, Ca.-based company.
The 7-3 vote came after the company agreed to provide the gunshot detection service for $643,750, a significantly-reduced rate from the original $838,750 price tag. Under the revised agreement, the city will pay $75,000 in the first year and $284,375 in both years two and three.
The backloaded deal gives the city wiggle room as it seeks to implement the long-planned technology while preparing for the possible hit the COVID-19 pandemic will have on the city budget.
The technology — currently in use in cities like Chicago, Peoria and Rockford — utilizes a series of acoustic sensors to detect and pinpoint the origin of gunfire within a 25 meter radius, providing real-time information to police officers responding on the ground.
The sensors were installed earlier this year throughout a 4.25-square mile section of Springfield’s east side, where a disproportionate amount of the city’s gun violence occurs.
Police Chief Kenny Winslow said the department is ready to “flip the switch” and activate the technology now that the council has approved it. The technology has long been viewed as a critical feature in the Springfield Police Department’s larger plan to reduce gun violence.
Its approval was far from a sure thing last week as some aldermen, fearing the oncoming budget crunch brought on by the pandemic, questioned whether it was an essential purchase.
This was further questioned when HSHS St. John’s Hospital, which pledged $50,000 for each year of the agreement, and Memorial Health System, which pledged at least $50,000, pulled their funding commitments for this year, citing the financial strain brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
And on Tuesday, Springfield Police Benevolent & Protective Association, the union that represents the city’s police officers, recommended that the purchase be put on hold.
In a letter to Langfelder and members of the council, union president Sgt. Grant Barksdale wrote that “a more cautious approach to law enforcement funding is more appropriate,” noting that their members did not want to purchase to be a driver of “any reduction of manpower in the future.”
Even with the $195,000 cost reduction, Ward 1 Ald. Chuck Redpath, Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin and Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer voted no.
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While the cost remains hefty in years two and three, aldermen said there’s hope that the hospitals will recommit themselves once their financial situations become more clear.
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 