GUNSHOT DETECTION SYSTEM-ABUSE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS
The short version: A Westchester community group calls out gunshot-detection contracts as costly, unaccountable surveillance dressed up as public safety.
Our Take
Credit to the Black Political Caucus of Westchester, Inc. for asking the question too many county boards never do: what are we actually getting for the money? Acoustic gunshot detection systems like ShotSpotter — now folded into Flock Safety's growing surveillance portfolio — have a long track record of six- and seven-figure contracts, spotty accuracy, and little public accounting of results. When a local watchdog group flags that pattern in their own backyard, it's worth paying attention.
This is the same playbook we track across ALPR deployments nationwide: a vendor pitches a public-safety solution, a municipality signs a multi-year contract with minimal community input, and years later nobody can produce hard evidence the tool reduced crime — only that it expanded the footprint of always-on monitoring in the neighborhoods least equipped to push back. Taxpayer-funded surveillance infrastructure doesn't stay narrowly scoped; it tends to get networked, shared, and repurposed long after the original justification fades.
If you live in Westchester or anywhere else these systems are being pitched, the first step is knowing what's already installed near you. Check our camera map to see nearby Flock infrastructure, and visit our take-action page for tools to push your county board for real transparency before the next contract gets renewed.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Black Political Caucus of Westchester, Inc, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.