Statement on ShotSpotter Illegal Lobbying Investigation ahead of Portland Vote

The following statement can be attributed to Lia Holland (they/she) Campaigns and Communications Director at Fight for the Future and a Portland resident:

“ShotSpotter is looking desperate to maintain its veneer of relevance as cities around the nation reconsider or end their contracts amid outcry from digital rights and racial justice activists. It’s shocking that immediately after the Portland City Council unanimously passed a resolution to bring more transparency and safeguards to the surveillance technologies the city uses, the city is still moving forward with a highly protested ShotSpotter contract. Now we know why—ShotSpotter has been sneaking behind the scenes in Portland’s city government, convincing decision-makers that the mutual publicity stunt of installing error-prone neighborhood surveillance systems is more important than the actual safety and privacy rights of Portlanders. ShotSpotter will make Portland less safe by falsely detecting gunshots up to 90% of the time and sending police into diverse neighborhoods with the expectation of an active shooter. Its web of always-listening microphones are also a gross violation of Portlanders’ basic privacy rights and sure to be abused. We call on the Portland City Council to cast aside ShotSpotter and their apparent illegal lobbying in favor of efforts that will actually improve safety and human rights for the people they are supposed to serve.”

For more from us on ShotSpotter, please see Lia’s op-ed in The Oregonian: https://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2022/07/opinion-adopting-shotspotter-gunfire-detection-system-would-be-neither-effective-nor-equitable.html