Comptroller Lander Declines to Register ShotSpotter Contract Renewal

 

Comptroller’s Bureau of Contract Administration identified impermissible procedural flaws under NYC’s procurement rules 

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander declined to register the renewal of the New York City Police Department (NYPD)’s contract with SoundThinking, Inc. (also known as ShotSpotter), an auditory gunfire location and detection technology installed in neighborhoods throughout New York City. After careful review, the Comptroller’s Bureau of Contract Administration determined that the contract package failed to adhere to New York City procurement rules that govern contract renewals by substantively altering the underlying terms and agreements.

While the contract contemplated a three-year renewal (from December 2024 through December 2027), ShotSpotter attempted to add an additional one-year contract extension option that was not permissible under Procurement Policy Board (PPB) rules. This extension would also increase the annual subscription fee to $85,097 per square mile where the technology covered. Additionally, among other flaws, the NYPD executed the renewal agreement without securing the required legal approvals for changed terms and conditions.

“Proposing an extension of ShotSpotter’s contract now beyond the contemplated three-year renewal violates the City’s procurement rules,” said Comptroller Brad Lander.

In 2024, Comptroller Lander’s office released an audit of ShotSpotter which found that ShotSpotter’s contract gives them a significant incentive to over-report with no penalties for false positive alerts. During the months reviewed, 80% to 92% of ShotSpotter alerts did not turn out to be confirmed shootings. NYPD records show that officers spent thousands of hours responding to the 7,262 ShotSpotter alerts during the six-month period reviewed that did not turn out to be confirmed shootings.

While the audit was not a factor in the Comptroller’s office’s decision to return the contract (the Comptroller’s contract registration authority only covers procedural requisites), Comptroller Lander said that there was a concerning pattern.

“ShotSpotter’s contract gives them no incentive to correct the massive number of ‘false positives’ that sends cops out to car backfires and other loud noises nearly 87 percent of the time,” Comptroller Lander continued. “Instead of trying to grab an extra year’s extension, ShotSpotter should have implemented the recommendations in our audit to improve their performance. I appreciate the efforts that Commissioner Tisch has made so far to bring reform to the NYPD, and I hope she will bring that spirit of reform and insistence on outcomes to her reconsideration of this contract.”