Richland County allocates more than $2 million of COVID-19 relief funds on gunshot detection system

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - More than $2 million of COVID-relief funds distributed to Richland County has been allocated to a gunshot detection system known as ShotSpotter.

According to ShotSpotter’s website, more than 150 American cities use the controversial technology ― while other major cities have discontinued their partnerships with the company.

ShotSpotter technology is designed to detect the sound of a gunshot and then an alarm to dispatch police to the where the sound is detected.

Richland County obtained a contract with ShotSpotter between 2022 to 2023. The sensors were placed in neighborhoods and apartment complexes, according to the sheriff’s department.

WIS News 10 found several sensors in Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s jurisdiction on light poles.

“I just thought it was a light,” one Richland County resident said.

WIS News 10 could not find record that RCSD alerted residents to the fact ShotSpotter would be placed in the county and discussion of the devices did not come up during public county meetings.

WIS News 10 does not have a complete picture of every ShotSpotter location in Richland County because the sheriff’s department declined to provide a copy of its coverage map.

“It’s good. It’s perfect to catch criminals,” Alonzo Edwards, another Richland County resident said.

The county has received more than $50 million of COVID-19 relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, according to federal data.

Gretchen Barron, Richland County councilwoman and chair of the COVID-19 committee, provided more context on why the county agreed to allocate $2 million toward ShotSpotter.

“$2 million was for a full investment of public safety,” she said. “So, what happens what the committee makes a recommendation, and when it comes out of committee, then it goes before Richland County Council as a report from that committee, and then from there council can provide their input and then from there we take a vote on it.”

“Some things that come through ... take three readings, and a public hearing committee recommendations don’t always have that,” she said.

While residents in communities with ShotSpotter said the sheriff’s department did not alert them to the technology in their backyard, Barron said she did inform her constituents at community meetings.

Differences with CPD ShotSpotter

Columbia Police Department approved ShotSpotter back in 2019 after the agreement came before council. At the time, Columbia was the first South Carolina city to adopt the new technology.

The technology was estimated to cost more than $1.8 million over the course of three years.

Residents in Columbia have access to a dashboard that shows the number of times ShotSpotter alerts law enforcement and how many times law enforcement may be responding to their neighborhood.

“This technology allows us to respond consistently, precisely, and quickly to gunfire events. Many of these events would go unreported if not for this technology,” Holbrook said at the time.

Concern over ShotSpotter ‘false positives’

Though the intent for the devices is for a more precise response, researchers and activists are concerned that ShotSpotter is actually wasting police time and resources.

According to data obtained from a Freedom of Information Act, Richland County has had 40 false positives from the device since 2023. WIS News asked for a total number of alerts in the calendar year to see how this number compares, and the sheriff’s department said it is still working to gather more data to give us that number.

“It’s infamous by now for returning false positives,” said Paul Bowers, communications director with the American Civil Liberties Union. “Fireworks go off, a car backfires, any number of noises could trigger one of these devices to say, ‘Gunshot, Gunshots fired on this block.’”

Bowers referenced a study from Chicago which found that around 90% of the time when ShotSpotter alerted law enforcement, it did not lead to any sort of arrest or investigation of a gun crime.

“A lot of times police surveillance is portrayed as a trade off between public safety and civil liberties, and I think that’s misleading. I think in the base case, technologies like ShotSpotter are not actually conducive to public safety,” he said.

In addition to the false positive rate, investigations from across the country have found the information from ShotSpotter has been used to aid false convictions and arrests of minorities.

However, Richland County residents WIS News 10 spoke to for this story said they believe something needs to be done to curb gun violence in their community.

“In the state of South Carolina, I feel like gun safety is at an all time low. We passed the law that says you no longer have to have a permit,” said Richland County resident Erin Brevard. “It kind of makes more sense to have these things in place, because then it’s like, whenever anybody can have a gun, so anybody could shoot you at any time.”

“I still feel like this should have been brought before the citizens, so they could give their thoughts and opinions on it,” she said. “Because ultimately it concerns the citizens and the residents.”

WIS News 10 reached out to the company that produces ShotSpotter on whether there are ways for the technology to produce less false positives but we have not received a response.

The sheriff’s department declined an on-camera interview for this story but reiterated it is working to compile data that will provide more context about the how the devices are performing in Richland County.

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