EPIC Files Petition Urging Attorney General Garland to Investigate ShotSpotter for Civil Rights Violations

EPIC has filed a petition urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate whether federal funding of acoustic gunshot detection tools, particularly ShotSpotter, complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.  

Substantial evidence shows that ShotSpotter disproportionately deploys its sensors in predominantly Black neighborhoods, replicating historically biased policing practices. On top of these problematic deployment practices, ShotSpotter systems are also riddled with inaccuracies. ShotSpotter has produced tens of thousands of false alerts of gunshots, which sends police officers expecting to find armed individuals in neighborhoods that are already historically overpoliced.  

EPIC regularly calls for increased transparency and oversight of automated decision-making and predictive policing.