(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A controversial crime fighting tool is being dropped by the city of Chicago, and that's drawing praise from one of the leading critics.
Mayor Brandon Johnson says the city will not renew its contract with ShotSpotter, which is billed as a technology that detects the source of gunfire.
Alexa Van Brunt is director of the McArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University, where a study said about 90 percent of ShotSpotter alerts did not help police find evidence of gunfire.
Van Brunt also says ShotSpotter technology has been discriminatory, because of its deployment in communities of color.
Johnson said the city will decommission ShotSpotter technology this September. He said the city will devote more resources to strategies and tactics that he says will do more to decrease gun violence.
Supporting ShotSpotter was Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), who argues the technology has saved lives. He said it's short-sighted to cancel the contract.
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