Toronto police board approves gunshot-listening technology

Thestar.com
July 18, 2018
Wendy Gillis

In an effort to combat gun violence, the Toronto Police Services Board has approved the acquisition of microphone technology that provides real-time information about shooting locations.

In a walk-on motion at Thursday’s board meeting, Mayor John Tory proposed the purchase of the so-called “ShotSpotter” equipment --American technology that detects gunshots through sensors and then triangulates the precise location where the trigger was pulled --as well as 40 additional surveillance cameras.

U.S.-based ShotSpotter uses microphone technology to pinpoint where gunshots have just been fired, then provides local police with real-time information about where the shooting occurred.

The 11th-hour move to purchase ShotSpotter technology --which has never been used in Canada --was criticized by members of the public, who made last-minute deputations questioning the lack of public notice and absence of detailed information about the equipment.

Tory said expediency was required to put in the request for funding before next week, when city council holds its last meeting before December. The technology was proposed by senior police officials at a meeting held last week to discuss ways to combat gun violence, he said.

“It was brought here now because there’s an urgency to get the funding approved, if we’re going to implement the (ShotSpotter) and/or the cameras,” said Tory.

The total cost of the new equipment would be up to $4 million over two years, a tab Tory said he hopes will be eventually covered by the provincial and federal governments.

The board unanimously passed the motion for the new equipment but added the requirement that Chief Mark Saunders provide a report to the board in September on ShotSpotter technology, the additional cameras and oversight for the equipment.

Board member Ken Jeffers said it was incumbent on the board and the police service to ensure the public understands the technology, especially given ongoing modernization efforts.

“The community does have a right to understand and give their input,” Jeffers said.
If the funding is approved by city council, the 40 new cameras will be placed “sensitively and prudently” in public places, Tory said. The purchase would bring the total number of cameras to 74 from 34.

Compared to surveillance cameras, the proprietary ShotSpotter technology is relatively new. A list of 90 municipal clients on the company’s website lists Cape Town, South Africa, as the only place outside the United States where the tool has been deployed.

According to a video on the company’s website, the technology works by using “acoustic sensors” placed on buildings and lampposts to detect gunshots. A time stamp of when the shot occurred is recorded, and the data is used to determine where the shot was fired to within 25 metres.

The location is reported to the company’s “incident review centre,” where “trained acoustic experts” analyze the sound to determine whether it is in fact a gunshot, the video states. The information is then shared with police, including via smartphones.

In a blog post last year, ShotSpotter CEO Ralph Clark wrote that the technology could be used as a deterrent to gun violence. He said that when police show up “quickly and precisely” to shootings, it sends a message.

“It says that these criminal events are being taken seriously and treated as an exceptional event, which they in fact represent. This leads to increased law enforcement legitimacy in the eyes of the community and increases collaboration and engagement,” Clark wrote.

New York City is among the American cities to adopt the technology; a pilot project was launched 2015 that saw the sensors installed in high-crime areas in the Bronx and Brooklyn. The program was expanded in 2017, according to The Wall Street Journal, and U.S. media outlets report police services across the country are pleased with the technology.

However, civil liberties organizations have raised the alarm about potential privacy risks of a network of microphones installed in public places. While the company has said the sensors only trigger with a “bang” or similar gunshot-like sound, The New York Times has reported sensors recording a loud argument on the street that coincided with a fatal shooting.

“I’m really concerned about the technology that’s proposed here,” said community member Ruben Charles. “These cameras, and this technology --there’s nothing in here about oversight. There’s nothing in here in terms of how these are going to be located, how they’re going to be used, how they’re going to be accessed.”

Police board chair Andy Pringle said Saunders should provide a “full update on the technology and how it works,” given the concerns voiced at the meeting.

“But at the moment we need, right now, to get on with this,” Pringle said.

Toronto city councillor Frances Nunziata, who was sworn in as the newest police board member during Thursday’s meeting, said she felt the board needed to do what it took to combat crime “because we’re all fed up with the gun violence.”

“It’s enough playing political games, we need to get this done,” she said.

Tory’s motion also asked Saunders to report to board in September about the ongoing expansion of the neighbourhood officers program --which is part of the Toronto police modernization plan --including locations and costs.

It also called for the board to engage with federal and provincial governments “to explore additional mechanism for financial and other support for the service's efforts to combat gun violence and continue to implement the recommendations” of the modernization plan.