Oakland cops aim to scrap gunfire-detecting ShotSpotter Oakland police say other technology needs funding

Teaetta Tisdale says she often has to grab and shelter her four kids when gunshots ring out near her home in East Oakland. Teaetta Tisdale says she often has to grab and shelter her four kids when gunshots ring out near her home in East Oakland. Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Oakland cops aim to scrap gunfire-detecting ShotSpotter 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

Oakland police are considering scrapping the city's gunshot detection system that some residents in high-crime neighborhoods say makes them feel more secure.

ShotSpotter is an 8-year-old network of microphones that detect gunfire in most parts of East and West Oakland, record the audio, map the location and send an alert to patrol officers within 20 seconds.

But the system, which costs the department $264,000 a year, is expensive and redundant, police contend. They say residents already call to alert police when they hear gunfire, and the money could be better used to fund other technology, such as the police helicopter.

"Although ShotSpotter is very valuable ... a lot of times it is followed with phone calls from our community, so we're not missing out on a whole lot," said Officer Frank Bonifacio, a police spokesman.

But police data show that ShotSpotter detects more gunfire incidents than are reported by residents.

For example, in February, the system documented 258 reports of gunfire across East and West Oakland - the two areas blanketed with sensors. During that period, residents called in 197 reports of gunfire, according to police data.

Yet interim Police Chief Sean Whent recently told the City Council that ShotSpotter is not a priority. The council must decide whether to renew ShotSpotter with the contractor, SST, a Mountain View company that provides the service. Neither Whent nor SST were available for comment.

Residents say no

East Oakland residents and their City Council representatives say they don't want police to eliminate ShotSpotter. Knowing that sensors are monitoring - and documenting - gunfire is comforting, residents said, especially when they feel otherwise ignored and forgotten by downtown city leaders.

"I think they spend a lot of money on (stuff) that isn't necessary, but this seems necessary," said Jaton Hurt, 22, who lives on 83rd Avenue in an area where ShotSpotter counted 21 incidents of gunfire in February. "I would rather them know where gunshots are."

Hurt, who works as a security guard, said he wondered if police wanted to get rid of ShotSpotter so they didn't have to respond to every gunshot call.

'It is a cop-out'

"I think it is a cop-out," Hurt said. "With those microphones (the police) are supposed to be there. Basically they would rather save money than save lives."

Bonifacio said police respond to every ShotSpotter alert and resident report of gunfire.

"That is a priority one call," Bonifacio said. "Not like a priority call where they get to it when they can."

Councilwoman Desley Brooks, who represents East Oakland, said she doesn't understand why Oakland police aren't interested in ShotSpotter when dozens of other cities, including San Francisco and Richmond, use the technology.

"And then you have Oakland who stands alone and says, 'You know, we don't think it is that good,' " Brooks said. "It is, you know, interesting."

Noel Gallo, who heads the council's Public Safety Committee, said everyone he has spoken with supports it. "Everyone thinks it is a good thing to identify activity."

Oakland first installed 108 ShotSpotter sensors in 2006, but the system fell into disrepair when the city didn't pay maintenance fees. In 2011, the city spent $84,000 to restart the service and, in 2012, expanded the system. The contract will expire in August.

At the time, police said ShotSpotter would be a "force multiplier and increase the likeliness of an officer apprehending a subject involved in violent crime."

Bonifacio said that today there are better uses for the money.

"Our department has recognized that other tools and technologies may be more valuable at this time, such as the police helicopter or air support," he said. "The Oakland Police Department must prioritize our fiscal constraints and also factor in how valuable each tool will be in the long run."

The Oakland department's helicopter, Bonifacio said, can race from one side of the city to another faster than a patrol car and can also use infrared radar to search for suspects on rooftops or behind fences.

'Call in more often'

Bonifacio added that when people call 911 to report gunfire, they often give context an audio recording can't.

"We would like to encourage the community to call in more often," he said. "More of the helpful stuff is the community that sees, hears and reports their observations. It is better than a machine telling us coordinates of what happened."

But many East Oakland residents said they were tired of telling police about the gunfire.

Georgia Phillips, 24, a culinary student, said she regularly hears gunfire near her home on 65th Avenue but doesn't usually call police. Even with ShotSpotter, she said, the police rarely respond.

"I hear a shot and I hear sirens maybe 20, 30 minutes later, and then they're going somewhere else," Phillips said. "The police are pretty bad, and I don't trust them with my life."

Teaetta Tisdale, 25, an in-home caregiver who lives in East Oakland, said she also regularly hears gunfire near her 82nd Avenue apartment. She's given up calling police, because the sound of gunfire is so common. "Literally it will be so close that I have to grab my kids and take them inside," she said. "I hate having them out because it makes me paranoid."

Tisdale said she doesn't see police respond to gunfire.

"They need to do something better, truthfully," she said. "It would be less crime and less murder if they came."