The Houston Police Department is short on officers. Is technology helping to take over? – Houston Public Media

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Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced last week that he wants to end the city’s contract with ShotSpotter, the controversial audio surveillance system that detects gunshots and notifies police.

Houston Police Department Acting Chief Larry Satterwhite recently said that due to staffing shortages, the department is relying more on Flock security cameras, a license plate scanning camera program which tracks vehicle license plates and notifies police of past links to crimes.

On Tuesday’s Houston Matters, Professor Everette Penn, a professor at the University of Houston Clear Lake and founder of the Teens and Police Services Academy, said HPD, along with other departments, is in a difficult situation and must rely on such technologies to assist the police.

“They are in a difficult situation due to the lack of staffing of officers who can fight crime on a daily basis, so innovation is necessary,” Penn said. “And when this innovation raises questions, we must turn to technology.”

Penn added that effective policing to reduce crime would involve having officers on the street.

“But if you don’t have that agent, technology seems to be the next way to go to provide some help and relief in reducing crime,” he said. “…ShotSpotter, Flock and others are examples of these technologies. Some will be better than others.”

Today, the question that remains is whether or not law enforcement should continue to use it, Penn said.

According to Mayor Whitmire, ShotSpotter is not worth the price and called the technology a “gimmick.” Penn said one problem with ShotSpotter is that the program is reactive rather than proactive. Criminal justice reform advocates have expressed concerns about the program’s impacts on black and brown communities.

“If a crime has occurred and you unfortunately have a victim on the ground, you may want to know where that gunshot came from,” he said. “The deployment of the ShotSpotter allows us to say that it may have come from this building.”

Penn added that technology has had its pros and cons across the country.

“Chicago was a big city that used it and found inconveniences,” he said. “…This has now been tested. There’s some question as to whether it’s any good or not, but I hope we take the time to effectively look at all the data to see how effective this has been, and whether we We find that this is not the case, for the price it represents, so we turn to other technological capabilities that allow us to fight crime.

The Flock system, he said, helps track vehicles and, while license plates can be changed, it always keeps track of what type of vehicle the tag was attached to.

He said the research gives Flock a “boost” because of its ability to trace and track cars. However, concerns remain, particularly around people’s rights, Penn said.

“But when you’re in public, there are cameras everywhere… you almost understand that when I’m in public, there could be a camera following me,” he said. “We need to think about what tools do we have available in our toolbox?”

According to Penn, while technology is an available tool that can help, authorities must ensure that people’s civil rights are not violated. He said there are alternative systems, such as red light cameras, automated ticketing systems and electronic speed controls.

“There are a lot of capabilities in the toolbox to help us when you don’t have enough manpower, it’s just a matter of finding out what works best here in Houston, what Houstonians are ready to accept and understand that we are working to reduce crime here in the city,” Penn said.