A
couple years ago, the Robinson-Briggs administration tried to convince the
council to invest over a $1 million to purchase a system known as “ShotSpotter,”
which was to be the answer to the city’s problem of guns and violence. Although
Mayor Robinson-Briggs saw ShotSpotter as a panacea to the city’s rising violent crime
statistics, many of us on the council were skeptical and felt that an
investment of over a $1 million on a system that was reactive and not proven to
be an effective tool in the crime fighting arsenal of law enforcement would be
a waste of tax payers’ dollars.
We said no to the costly experiment; we rejected
the Briggs’ administration’s desire to part with over a $1 million of tax
payers’ money. Instead, we opted for a trial run of ShotSpotter at a
significantly reduced price of $169,000, funded by a grant.
However,
since the council’s approval of the trial run, the system has not been able to
deliver on its promise to accurately detect gun shots fired within the zones
covered by the technology. Many sources in the Plainfield law enforcement
community reported many gun shots that were not detected by the ShotSpotter
system, and the system itself has been plagued with problems.
A couple months
ago, I suggested that no payments be made to the vendor and that the clock be
reset to a new effective date, a date that would be determined after the
system’s effectiveness has been verified. Unfortunately, no one in the city is
able, at this time, after several
additional months of testing, to say without doubt or hesitation that the
ShotSpotter system is worth the investment or that it delivers any crime
fighting advantage to Plainfield.
Therefore,
I will be urging my colleagues and the Robinson-Briggs administration to
abandon the ShotSpotter system and cut our losses. Furthermore, I am
recommending that the dollars that were intended to fund the ShotSpotter system
be reallocated to provide for the installation of security cameras across the
entire city, with a heavy concentration in the areas known for their high crime
rates.
Hence,
let’s not waste any more time or money; let’s pull the plug on ShotSpotter, and
let’s roll out the security cameras. Say “no” to ShotSpotter, “no” to continued
wasteful spending by this administration, and “yes” to other proven effective
public safety measures.
Regards,
Adrian
