[2][3] ShotSpotter claims it can identify whether or not a gunshot was fired in an area in order to dispatch law enforcement, though researchers have noted concerns about effectiveness, reliability, privacy, and equity.

[10] The company had a net loss of $4.4 million in 2021, in part from nonrenewal of contracts and increases in legal costs, PR from Trident DMG, and lobbying.

[12][13] In April 2023, the company rebranded to SoundThinking to better represent "holistic approach to gun violence", but retained the ShotSpotter product name.

[14][15] In July 2023, a Houston Chronicle investigation showed that ShotSpotter calls resulted in lower incident report rates and longer police response times.

[17][18] In an August 2023 earnings call, the CEO of SoundThinking announced that the company had begun the process of absorbing parts (including the "engineering team") of Geolitica, formerly known as PredPol.

[20] In May 2024, three senators and a representative wrote a letter requesting the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General open an investigation into ShotSpotter for its accuracy and racial bias in policing.

[21][22] A June 2021 study in the Journal of Experimental Criminology stated the system "may be of little benefit to police agencies with a pre-existing high call volume.

[26] Jennifer Doleac told Voice of San Diego that ShotSpotter "resisted attempts (by me and others) to do a rigorous evaluation of its impacts", noting "they've clearly found that they can get cities to sign their contracts without such evidence.

"[28][29] Activist and early supporter of the ShotSpotter installation Jumaane Williams agreed it wasn't working, stating "More concerning is a response to the report.

[34][35][36][37] These results were backed up by a subsequent report by the Chicago Inspector General, which also found that police officers had begun stopping and searching people solely because they were in a place known to have many ShotSpotter alerts.

[38] ShotSpotter's CEO described an earlier 80% accuracy rate as "basically our subscription warranty," but employee Paul Greene said "Our guarantee was put together by our sales and marketing department, not our engineers.

"[39] A multipart investigation published in 2024 by South Side Weekly found that ShotSpotter missed hundreds of shootings in Chicago the previous year; leaked company emails revealed executives discussing the fact that they had nonworking sensors and not enough personnel to quickly repair them, but could not admit that to city officials.

A study published in January 2024 showed that ShotSpotter implementations in Chicago and Kansas City did not result in reductions in shootings or crime or increased clearance rates.

[45] Additionally, the sensors are disproportionately placed in minority communities, leading to more interactions with police, often from false alerts from fireworks, pneumatic nail guns, jackhammers, manual hammers.

Later the company's employee Paul Greene "was asked by the Rochester Police department to essentially search and see if there were more shots fired than ShotSpotter picked up," so it was revised to five gunshots, which put it in alignment with Ferrigno's claims.

[31] A public defender in the case filed a Frye motion to examine the ShotSpotter forensic method, and the prosecution withdrew the evidence to avoid scrutinizing it.

[57][58] In New Bedford, Massachusetts, the gunshot sensors recorded parts of a conversation, leading to concerns that it violates Fourth Amendment rights.

[65] The lawsuit also alleges that Chicago's ShotSpotter policy is racially discriminatory because the system was only implemented in areas with the highest concentration of Black and Latino residents.

Shortly after this it was revealed that SoundThinking is suing a whistleblower, Chris Edwards, who disclosed locations of ShotSpotter sensors to the public via social media.

In his motion, Edwards claimed that John Fountain, ShotSpotter’s former director of field and network operations, told him to “falsify numbers on the deteriorated system to avoid” having to pay back money to cities and agencies for not meeting their contractual obligations.

He also claimed, in an affidavit attached to his motion, that Fountain told him to “keep these things in-house” and to “stay out of business that has nothing to do with you.”[68] ShotSpotter was activated for a shooting at the house of New Mexico Senator Linda M. Lopez; police were dispatched but did not find evidence.

[71] In January 2024, a Chicago Police Department officer responding to a ShotSpotter alert heard a loud bang, fired at a juvenile boy, and missed.