After ShotSpotter expires, which gunfire-response strategy should Denver build next?

City of Denver, Denver County, Colorado Policing Public Safety

Denver’s $4.7 million ShotSpotter contract expires December 31 after about a decade of acoustic gunshot detection in parts of the city. Police had recently explored replacement vendors, but city officials now say no replacement will be ready when the contract ends. Denver expects to rely on 911 reports while spending 2027 analyzing data and community feedback before deciding whether and how to restore gunshot-detection technology. The transition reopens a long-running dispute: supporters value rapid detection of shootings that residents may not report, while critics question cost, accuracy, geographic concentration and whether the technology produces enough public-safety benefit. A gunshot nobody reports can leave victims waiting, but technology has to prove it improves outcomes enough to justify its cost and unequal footprint. Denver now has a natural opportunity to compare alternatives.

Overall results

68% support · excluded by 10%

A contract transition creates a rare natural comparison period. Denver can measure response times, evidence recovery and shooting outcomes without the system before deciding whether several million dollars should return to this tool.

Technology concentrated in particular neighborhoods should meet a clear evidentiary burden. Evaluation should examine false alerts, deployment equity and actual case outcomes rather than alert totals alone.

53% support · excluded by 8%

Ending a tool before a replacement is evaluated creates a preventable capability gap. Denver can run a competitive procurement with stronger performance reporting rather than abandon the category.

Police should not depend entirely on a neighbor being awake, nearby and willing to call. Automated detection can provide location information when a shooting would otherwise go unreported.

43% support · excluded by 6%

Some neighborhoods experience enough gunfire that losing automated alerts may carry more risk there than elsewhere. Coverage should follow current evidence rather than historical deployment boundaries.

A limited pilot can test competing vendors against explicit accuracy and response metrics before Denver commits to another city contract.

35% support · excluded by 12%

Detecting a bullet after it is fired does not prevent the shooting. Denver should invest the money in intervention, conflict reduction and services aimed at stopping violence earlier.

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