#StopShotSpotter Seattle Update

[jdp23]

Today's Nexus of Privacy newsletter looks at ShotSpotter, a "gunfire detection" surveillance system deployed in Black and Latinx neighborhoods across the country. 

Seattle Mayor Harrell’s budget allocates $1 million for a gunfire detection system – presumably ShotSpotter, which Harrell's tried to bring to Seattle for over a decade. As Lauryn Bray's Community Groups Say ShotSpotter in Proposed Mayoral Budget May Harm South End in the South Seattle Emerald, there's a lot of opposition to this surveillance technology in the Rainier Beach neighborhood where it would be deployed initially. 

And for good reason!  Systems like ShotSpotter don’t reduce crime or even produce evidence that can be used in court cases. Instead, they waste police time and resources – and harm people in the communities they’re supposed to protect. In Chicago, police responding to a ShotSpotter alert shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo. Michael Williams and Daniel Ortiz were wrongfully arrested as a result of ShotSpotter.

You can find the full story at #StopShotSpotter: Seattle Update on The Nexus of Privacy.

FIND OUT MORE!  Join Solidarity Budget, WA People's Privacy, Michael Williams, local organizers and members of the national #StopShotSpotter coalition for a webinar on Monday, November 7, at 12:00 pm Pacific time – streamed on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter

TAKE ACTION!  If you're a Seattle resident, tell the Community Police Commission not to waste $1 million on ShotSpotter!.