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TO: Mayor John Laesch
FROM: Deputy Chief Steve Stemmet - Aurora Police Department
Lieutenant Andy Wolcott - Aurora Police Department
DATE: June 24, 2025
SUBJECT:
A resolution authorizing the Director of Purchasing to enter into a renewal of the ShotSpotter service agreement with Soundthinking, Inc. for a period of three years.
PURPOSE:
Soundthinking’s ShotSpotter product is a gunshot detection, alert, and analysis service that is used for timely notification to law enforcement. This timely notification allows for rapid response of law enforcement to firearm discharges in the coverage area and helps officers on scene more precisely locate where the shots were fired from and where potential victims and evidence might be. The Aurora Police Department has been using ShotSpotter since July of 2022 and is looking to renew it for an additional three years.
BACKGROUND:
Gun violence in America’s cities is a devastating epidemic. In the four counties we are part of, there have been almost 2,000 individuals injured by gunfire in the last five years. Also devasting is that many gunfire incidents go unreported by witnesses for the following reasons:
-They don’t want to get involved
-They assume it was fireworks or that someone else called
-They don’t know the exact location, so they don’t call
Victims also don’t call for the following reasons:
-They are injured or being raced to the hospital by car
-Because they may have been involved in criminal activity when it occurred
-Because they want to handle it themselves
Even when a citizen calls 9-1-1 to report gunfire, it typically takes several minutes for the subject to call, and for the information to get relayed to the dispatcher and to be dispatched to an officer, who could be several minutes away. Frequently when we receive these calls, the caller just heard shots and has no idea where the shooting occurred. As a result, valuable time and resources are wasted trying to locate the incident, greatly diminishing the opportunity to identify suspects and witnesses, recover evidence, and most importantly, render life-saving aid to victims.
City Council previously authorized an agreement for ShotSpotter in 2022, see Resolution R22-045.
DISCUSSION:
When gun crime isn’t reported to police, the people responsible for the shootings feel emboldened to shoot whenever they want with little to no consequences, putting everyone else in the neighborhood at risk. Unaddressed gunfire drives homicides and injuries, make residents feel unsafe in their homes and allows the cycle of gun violence to continue.
ShotSpotter enables an informed and precise police response that is focused on apprehending the shooters, while conveying a sense of respect and compassion for the community.
With ShotSpotter, police become aware of essentially all gunshot incidents in the coverage area. The system detects, locates and alerts police to gunfire in less than 60 seconds using a network of acoustic sensors across the coverage area. This enables a new normal where police can provide a consistent, rapid, and precise response to aid victims, collect evidence, and better serve their communities.
The collection of evidence from gunshots can be entered into the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN), which is housed at the Aurora Police Department. This data can further connect gun crimes and assist investigators in obtaining leads in the identification of offenders of gun violence.
Soundthinking is the sole provider of the ShotSpotter service and the only company that has such a proprietary product, having provided a sole source letter to confirm that, therefore no competitive bid was completed.
The cost for continued coverage of a two square mile coverage with SpotSpotter is $140,000 a year, for a total three-year coverage cost of $420,000. The funds to cover 2025 will be taken from account 255-3536-421.45-02. Funds for 2026 and 2027 have been budgeted through an APD Decision package out of account 101-3536-421.45-02.
IMPACT STATEMENT:
Through the continued use of ShotSpotter, the Aurora Police Department will be notified of gunfire events in 60 seconds or less, that the department may otherwise not know about, allowing APD to save lives and collect evidence - ultimately leading to a reduction in gun crime.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
We respectfully recommend that the Aurora City Council grant approval to enter into a service agreement with Soundthinking for ShotSpotter for a three-year period.
cc: Public Health, Safety and Transportation Committee
CITY OF AURORA, ILLINOIS
RESOLUTION NO. _________
DATE OF PASSAGE ________________
title
A Resolution authorizing the Director of Purchasing to enter into a renewal of the ShotSpotter service agreement with Soundthinking, Inc. for a period of three years.
body
WHEREAS, the City of Aurora has a population of more than 25,000 persons and is, therefore, a home rule unit under subsection (a) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970; and
WHEREAS, subject to said Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, ShotSpotter is a gunshot detection, alert, and analysis service that is used for timely notification to law enforcement. This timely notification allows for rapid response of law enforcement to firearm discharges in the coverage area, and helps officers on scene more precisely locate where the shots were fired from and where potential victims and evidence might be.
WHEREAS, gun violence in America’s cities is a devastating epidemic. In the four counties Aurora is part of, there have been almost 2,000 individuals injured by gunfire in the last five years. Many gunfire incidents go unreported by witnesses and victims. Even when a citizen calls 9-1-1 to report a gunfire incident, it typically takes several minutes for the subject to call, and for the information to get relayed to the dispatcher and to be dispatched to an officer. As a result, valuable time and resources are wasted trying to locate the incident, greatly diminishing the opportunity to identify suspects and witnesses, recover evidence, and most importantly, render life-saving aid to victims; and
WHEREAS, when gun crime isn’t reported to police, the people responsible for the shootings feel emboldened to shoot whenever they want with little to no consequences, putting everyone else in the neighborhood at risk; and
WHEREAS, by using ShotSpotter, police become aware of essentially all gunshot incidents in the coverage area. The system detects, locates and alerts police to gunfire in less than 60 seconds using a network of acoustic sensors across the coverage area. This enables a new normal where police can provide a consistent, rapid, and precise response to aid victims, collect evidence, and better serve their communities; and
WHEREAS, Soundthinking is the manufacturer of ShotSpotter equipment and the only company that has such a proprietary product, therefore no competitive bid was completed; and
WHEREAS, The cost for continued coverage of a two square mile area with SpotSpotter is $140,000 a year, for a total three-year coverage cost of $420,000. The funds to cover 2025 will be taken from account 255-3536-421.45-02. Funds for 2026 and 2027 have been budgeted through an APD Decision package out of account 101-3536-421.45-02.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Aurora, Illinois, as follows: finds as facts all of the preamble recitals of this Resolution and hereby authorizes the Director of Purchasing to execute a service agreement between the City of Aurora, and Soundthinking for ShotSpotter for a three-year period.