DALLAS — The Dallas Police Department will ask city council members Wednesday to approve a $336,000 contract to purchase portable gunshot detection technology, similar to controversial "ShotSpotter" technology under fire by policing reform activists nationwide.
The three-year contract with Crime Gun Intelligence Technologies, LCC will allow for the purchase of 24 sensors of the company's FireFLY technology, allowing DPD to monitor for gunshots within a one-to-two-square-mile grid, Major Yancey Nelson told Council's Public Safety Committee Monday.
The FireFLY technology is portable and solar-powered, allowing DPD to mount the devices on rooftops and light poles and then move them to other "hot spot" neighborhoods as necessary.
"We would look at it from a statistical analysis and put it in those areas where we see violent crime,” Nelson said.
FireFLY uses microphones, GPS and machine learning to detect and locate gunshots. It was originally developed to support U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, its website said. When it detects a gun has been fired, Nelson said it would notify the department's operations and communications centers, so officers can be dispatched to the scene.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia previously expressed hesitation about the technology when asked last year.
"To be honest with you, the jury is still out on the efficiency of gunshot detection," Garcia told Councilmembers Sept. 6, 2023. "From our perspective, it can be a drain on resources with regards to random gunfire. Generally, we need to respond as quickly as we can when there's a victim to the gunfire."
He said at the time, he would be open to a pilot program of gunshot detection software.
A growing number of cities have cut ties with similar technologies. Houston Mayor John Whitmire called it a "gimmick" and said he wants to cancel the city's $3.5 million contract with ShotSpotter. San Antonio and New Orleans have also canceled their ShotSpotter contracts.
On Monday, Chicago city leaders debated whether to end their contract with ShotSpotter after a controversial incident in March 2021, when Chicago Police shot and killed a 13-year-old after responding to a report of gunfire detected by ShotSpotter, WLS-TV reported.
FireFLY is different from ShotSpotter, Crime Gun Intelligence Technologies President and Co-Founder Tim Kelly said.
Compared to its rival, he said FireFLY is portable and has more advanced detection capability to isolate the sound of gunshots from other city noises -- like cars backfiring -- and map their exact location.
Kelly emphasizes his technology is designed to allow officers to locate spent casings, and use them to trace the web of gun use across the city. Although it would also provide for quick response to reports of shots fired, similar to ShotSpotter, he said.
The proposed gunshot detection purchase comes as DPD reports continued decreases in violent crime across the city.
In a presentation Monday, the department told councilmembers Dallas has recorded a 19.2% decrease in average violent crime incidents in the three years since Garcia implemented a new crime plan in May 2021.
The plan uses a grid system to focus on hotspots throughout the city, on which DPD Major Nelson said the FireFLY system could overlay well.
