Denver police are preparing to let their long-running ShotSpotter contract quietly expire at the end of 2026, using the wind-down period to shrink the gunfire-detection network by 13% and shop around for a replacement vendor. The city's acoustic sensors, which flag the sound of gunshots in real time, have covered pockets of Denver since 2015, but officials now say they're ready to test whether newer technology can do the job better.
Denver City Council introduced legislation on August 18 to cut $147,421 from the city's contract with SoundThinking, the company that owns ShotSpotter, bringing the total contract value down to $4,352,579 as coverage shrinks, according to the City and County of Denver. The amendment is headed to the council's Health and Safety committee ahead of an August 26 agenda item. As Denverite first reported, Denver will keep using ShotSpotter through the end of the year even as it begins exploring alternatives, with a bidding process expected to start soon that will gather community input and evaluate updated gunshot-detection capabilities.
What the Numbers Show
Denver Police say the system has produced roughly 25,217 gunfire alerts since 2020, leading to 655 arrests and the recovery of 721 firearms, according to a statement obtained by 9News. But the department also disclosed that an average of 87.6% of those alerts had no corresponding 911 call from residents — a gap DPD frames as evidence of the system's value, arguing it lets officers respond to gunfire that would otherwise go unreported and helps them reach victims faster while preserving forensic evidence. ShotSpotter's sensors are built to detect gunfire and record when and where it happens, with an accuracy of about 80 feet.
Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas has said the department will use the current phase to evaluate updated technology options before committing to a new vendor, the same 9News report notes. As part of that ramp-down, police are removing sensors from neighborhoods with the lowest alert frequency, cutting the active coverage area by 13% ahead of the contract's expiration.
A Contentious History
Denver's relationship with ShotSpotter has never been free of controversy. The network began in 2015 as a 3-square-mile pilot funded by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to support the city's Crime Gun Intelligence Center, before Denver took over funding and expanded it. When the city council approved its current five-year, $4.7 million contract extension in January 2022, it passed by a 10-1 vote, with then-Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca casting the lone dissent after pushback from community activists, according to 303 Magazine. Speakers during that 2022 public comment session largely opposed the partnership, with critics arguing the technology would contribute to over-policing in neighborhoods where sensors were concentrated.
Those equity concerns aren't unique to Denver. A February 2024 leak of confidential sensor location data, analyzed nationally and covered by Hoodline, found that nearly 70% of people living in U.S. areas covered by SoundThinking's acoustic sensors identified as Black or Latino. SoundThinking, the company formerly known as ShotSpotter, rebranded in April 2023 as it expanded into patrol management, case building, and weapons-detection software beyond its original gunshot-detection product.
Part of a Bigger Pattern
Denver isn't alone in reconsidering the technology. Chicago decommissioned its own $49 million, seven-year ShotSpotter contract in September 2024 and spent nearly two years evaluating replacement bids, according to PBS News. Denver's own scrutiny of automated policing tools extends beyond gunshot sensors: earlier this year, the city turned off and removed all 110 of its Flock Safety license plate reader cameras amid disputes over how that data could be shared with outside entities.
For now, Denver Police say they're using the remaining months of the ShotSpotter contract to determine how gunshot-detection technology can be used most effectively going forward, rather than abandoning the concept altogether. Whether a new vendor ultimately replaces SoundThinking, and how much weight community input carries in that decision, remains to be seen as the bidding process gets underway.
