The Wichita Police Department plans to purchase around 144 gunshot sensors it’s tested since February 2022, officials said during a town hall meeting in June. Other than a brief mention of it when police talked about failures of the previous gunshot system in February 2023, which was the first time city and elected officials learned police had been testing the technology for more than a year, it was the first time the department spoke publicly about testing the controversial technology. The gunshot technology being implemented in Wichita has been controversial in other cities, including lawsuits, concerns about police bias and voice detection, and the question of whether or not the system detects gunshots accurately. Chief Joseph Sullivan, who inherited the Flock Safety’s Raven gunshot sensors from his predecessor, blamed the lack of transparency on a “glitch in communication” by the previous administration. He said that the department would be more transparent in the future, including about testing products, adding that when the Raven gunshot sensors go live, there will be a dashboard for people to see alerts and outcomes. “We want you to see and we want to see, is it working, is it not working?” Sullivan said during the June 8 meeting.
Source: Wichita Eagle
