GOP Lawmakers Will Restore Some Money For Gunshot Detection In Milwaukee

Republican state lawmakers have pledged to restore some of the money they cut from the last budget for a system that tracks gunshots in the city of Milwaukee.

The ShotSpotter system is a collection of microphones that are set up in targeted neighborhoods. When the microphones detect the sound of gunshots, they send a message to police headquarters that helps officers pinpoint where shots were fired. The system has already been deployed in a few Milwaukee neighborhoods, where Police Chief Edward Flynn said it’s been effective.

“With the assistance of ShotSpotter technology, these officers have been able to interrupt gunfights, provide first aid, gather evidence and just as importantly,” Flynn said, “arrest the violent criminals who plague some of our city’s neighborhoods.”

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos wants to spend $175,000 of state money to bolster the system, less than a year after Republicans cut ShotSpotter in the state budget. Vos said Flynn helped convince him.

“Quite frankly, I didn’t really know what ShotSpotter was before we took the time to go, visit, learn,” Vos said. “Once you see the technology and the way they’re deploying it, it’s hard not to buy into the technology and understand what a huge game-changer it can be over the course of time in transforming those neighborhoods.”

State Rep. Evan Goyke, D-Milwaukee, said he’s glad to see the speaker’s change of heart on this program, but said lawmakers should do more to prevent gun violence, for example by restricting assault weapons.

“I welcome the additional funds, like I said: I live in the community that will be directly impacted by this and I welcome that,” Goyke said. “I’m thankful for that. But, it’s only one small step and it comes at the very end of that vicious, dangerous cycle.”

Goyke also notes the $175,000 pledged by Vos falls short of the $445,000 Milwaukee stood to receive in last year’s budget.