While Houston celebrated National Night Out with law enforcement on Tuesday, mayoral candidates weighed in on police funding, transparency and the contract for gunshot sound-detecting technology at a town hall organized by the RISE Houston coalition.
Organizations in RISE (Re-Imagining Safety for Everyone) demand the city cancel the contract for ShotSpotter technology that detects gun shots.
Mayoral candidates Gilbert Garcia, Annie Garcia, write-in Robin Williams, M.J. Khan, Lee Kaplan, Robert Gallegos, and Naoufal Houjami attended.
Gilbert Garcia, Annie Garcia, Williams and Kaplan said they would move to cancel the contract with ShotSpotter, while Khan, Gallego, and Houjami abstained from commenting.
Houston's ShotSpotter program resulted in 5,450 alerts, 99 arrests and the seizure of 107 guns as of February. Critics have said the results — 19 percent of gunfire alerts in 25 months led to an offense report — does not warrant the $3.5 million contract cost. The program has also led to concerns about overpolicing.
A Houston Chronicle investigation found the technology had not made a dent in gun violence in the areas it covers and led to longer response times in those neighborhoods, especially for calls ranked less urgent than ShotSpotter alerts.
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