The Cambridge City Council voted Monday night to temporarily restore the city’s ShotSpotter gunshot detection system for 90 days while officials gather additional data and community feedback before deciding whether to keep the technology permanently.
The vote comes just months after the council voted to remove ShotSpotter amid concerns over privacy and the effectiveness of the technology. The issue returned to the forefront following the fatal shooting of Cambridge Department of Public Works employee Xavier Bautista on July 4.
Police said Bautista was shot and killed, but officers did not locate him until about an hour after the shooting. Supporters of ShotSpotter argued the system could help police respond more quickly to future shootings.
The council’s meeting drew dozens of residents who voiced sharply divided opinions during public comment.
Opponents urged councilors not to reverse their earlier decision.
“This council listened to our city and did the right thing by ending the use of ShotSpotter. Don’t bring it back,” one resident said during public comment.
Jacob Brown also spoke against reinstating the technology.
“This is something that has never made me feel more safe,” Brown said.
Gideon Epstein of the ACLU of Massachusetts argued the system has not proven effective.
“It is ineffective at reducing gun violence,” Epstein said.
Many opponents also contended that ShotSpotter infringes on residents’ privacy, concerns that prompted the City Council to vote in May to discontinue the system.
Supporters, however, said the technology is an important public safety tool that can help save lives.
“We don’t call it surveillance. We call it safety,” one city councilor said during the meeting.
Councilor Paul Toner Flaherty said the technology should not be viewed as a policing tactic but as a way to improve emergency response.
“This is not a racist law enforcement tool. It’s a sound detection technology that allows us to save lives and solve crimes,” Flaherty said.
ShotSpotter uses a network of audio sensors to detect suspected gunfire and alert police to its location, allowing officers to respond more quickly.
Several speakers shared personal experiences with gun violence while urging councilors to restore the system.
“I will always wonder if an alert had gone out that night, if my son’s killers would have had the opportunity to fire 15 rounds. Would officers have arrived sooner?” the mother of a gun violence victim told the council.
Other supporters acknowledged concerns about privacy but suggested changes to address them rather than eliminating the technology altogether.
“No data should be recorded to disk unless a gunshot was detected. That way we can bring back this life-saving tool without having to worry about being a source of data for bad actors,” one resident said during public comment.
“We don’t abandon public safety tools because they need improvement. We make them better,” another resident added.
Under Monday’s vote, ShotSpotter will return to Cambridge for 90 days while the city collects additional information and seeks further community input before councilors decide whether to reinstate the system on a long-term basis.
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