In case you’re not familiar with ShotSpotter, it’s a company that produces audio detection systems for law enforcement. Directional outdoor microphones are placed around the district and customized software “listens” for the sound of gunfire, filtering out (usually) automobiles backfiring or construction noises. Police are immediately notified when gunfire is detected so officers can be quickly dispatched to the scene.

Or at least that’s what the company used to be called. As of this week, they are now known as SoundThinking. The company underwent a sudden rebranding after its stock value tanked in recent days. What caused the sudden decline? While it may initially seem counterintuitive, it was the results of the Chicago mayoral election and the coming ascension of Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson. (San Francisco Gate)

ShotSpotter, the contentious Bay Area-based company that provides gunshot tracking technology to police departments and other law enforcement agencies, has rebranded following a dramatic stock drop just a day after the election of Chicago’s new mayor.

Now called SoundThinking, the company rebrand comes just a week after the election of Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson…

Johnson defeated former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas on April 4. The following day, ShotSpotter stock tanked by nearly 25% of its preelection value. As of Tuesday afternoon, the stock sat at just under $28 a share.

Take note of how the Gate describes ShotSpotter as “contentious.” We’ll circle back to that in a moment.

So as soon as Brandon Johnson was announced as the winner, the company’s stock nosedived. Why? Because the City of Chicago was one of ShotSpotter’s larger customers. But Johnson ran for mayor on a promise to eliminate the use of the software system. Yes, that’s right. The pro-police candidate, Paul Vallas, who promised to beef up the Chicago PD and reduce crime rates was defeated by the guy who vowed to get rid of one of the few effective tools the city had to combat gun violence.

As we’ve discussed here previously, Johnson had also spoken in favor of the defund the police movement. And he did so while asking to be put in charge of a city with spiraling gun crime rates along with carjackings, mass lootings, and gang violence in general. The voters of the city are apparently suicidal.

But with all of that said, what is Johnson’s beef with ShotSpotter? He’s basing his position on the same opposition that the software ran into in Baltimore and other large liberal cities. The technology “too often” sends police to “communities of color” so it must be racist. But the sad reality is that more gun crimes tend to take place in lower-income urban areas where gang violence is more prevalent. And those neighborhoods do tend to have disproportionately large minority populations.’

But ShotSpotter doesn’t know the color of anyone’s skin. It doesn’t even have cameras. It simply listens for gunfire and reports the location. Nobody is supposed to be discharging firearms on the streets of the city unless they are a police officer responding to a violent crime. So if there is gunfire taking place, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to want the police to get there quickly.

The good news is that ShotSpotter has plenty of other customers in cities with leadership that is more sane. Hopefully, they won’t be going anywhere in the near future.