Mayor Brandon Johnson continues to push forward with the progressive policing strategies he promised during his campaign to prioritize. He announced the city will be phasing out its contract with ShotSpotter, the controversial gunshot detection technology.

ShotSpotter has the backing of Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling, but the system has been criticized for being ineffective and contributing to overpolicing.

Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) supports the mayor’s decision not to renew the contract.

“Because the city’s never determined what it wants to do and how to judge success, to keep putting money in without understanding what you want to get out of any technology, it’s just a bit irresponsible with taxpayer dollars,” Vasquez said.

Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st Ward), a former Chicago police officer, is a strong supporter of the technology, on which the city has spent $49 million since 2018.

“Statistics show that this tool works,” Napolitano said. “We have less officers on the street, so we need more technology to step in.”

In another police-related move, for the second time in two months, Chicago City Council has rejected an arbitrator’s ruling that would allow certain police disciplinary hearings to be private.

“When we think about the amount of money being spent on police misconduct, over $100 million every single year, and we’re talking about officers who were either going to be suspended for a year or removed from the force, my argument is those folks shouldn’t be officers to begin with,” Vasquez said. “When we have those kinds of cases, I believe they need to be public.”

But Napolitano warns the city will have a long legal battle with the police union.

“It is going to get expensive,” Napolitano said, “because the city’s going to lose this case when it goes to court.”