Photo: WBZ NewsRadio
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — After more than a decade of service, the Cambridge City Council voted to disconnect the city's ShotSpotter system.
The technology is used to alert law enforcement when and where a gunshot is recorded.
The police surveillance technology is being used in Cambridge and by police departments all across the country.
However, it comes with privacy concerns.
In Cambridge, the decision was made to pull the plug on all the ShotSpotter recorders after extensive public comment and almost an hour of deliberation by city councilors.
One resident said his Porter Square neighborhood is safe and never even needed the technology. "My initial reaction is just that I didn't always think this was the kind of neighborhood that needed it."
ShotSpotter is designed to capture audio of gunshots, but it can also identify similar sounds, like a balloon popping, and identify it as a gunshot.
It can also record people's conversations.
There's been concerns expressed over people's distrust of the current federal administration, and of data sharing.
Meanwhile, Jason said he didn't even know the technology was being used. "It's a little unnverving," he said.
Another resident disagreed with ShotSpotter opponents saying she feels safer with the technology. "I feel reassured having a system in place that they can detect where exactly gunshots go off."
ShotSpotter was first deployed in Cambridge in 2014.
The city now must remove all of the recording devices within 90 days.
WBZ NewsRadio's Jim MacKay (@JimMacKayOnAir) reports.