State & Local Reports

Pursuant to the Municipal Code of Chicago (MCC) §§ 2-56-030 and -230, the Public Safety section of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiated an inquiry into the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) use of ShotSpotter acoustic gunshot detection technology and CPD’s response to ShotSpotter alert notifications. As part of this ongoing inquiry, OIG has analyzed data collected by CPD and the City of Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) regarding all ShotSpotter alert notifications that occurred between January 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021, and investigatory stops confirmed to be associated with CPD’s response to a ShotSpotter alert.In this report, OIG details ShotSpotter’s functionality and descriptive statistics regarding law enforcement activity related to CPD’s response to ShotSpotter alerts. OIG does not issue recommendations associated with this descriptive data. OIG is issuing this analysis of the outcomes of ShotSpotter alerts to provide the public and City government officials—to the extent feasible given the quality of OEMC and CPD’s data—with clear and accurate information regarding CPD’s use of ShotSpotter technology.The City’s three-year contract with ShotSpotter began on August 20, 2018, through August 19, 2021, at a cost of $33 million. In November 2020, well before the end of the contract term, CPD requested an extension of the contract and in December 2020, the City exercised an option to extend it, setting a new expiration date for August 19, 2023. In March 2021, CPD requested approval for an annual 5% increase in the cost per square mile of the contract.OIG’s descriptive analysis of OEMC data and investigatory stop report (ISR) data collected for ShotSpotter alert incidents that occurred between January 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021, revealed the following:A total of 50,176 ShotSpotter alerts were confirmed as probable gunshots by ShotSpotter, issued an event number—a unique record identification number assigned to distinct “events” of police activity—and dispatched by OEMC; each of these resulted in a CPD response to the location reported by the ShotSpotter application.Of the 50,176 confirmed and dispatched ShotSpotter alerts, 41,830 report a disposition—the outcome of the police response to an incident. A total of 4,556 of those 41,830 dispositions indicate that evidence of a gun-related criminal offense was found, representing 9.1% of CPD responses to ShotSpotter alerts.Among the 50,176 confirmed and dispatched ShotSpotter alerts, a total of 1,056 share their event number with at least one ISR, indicating that a documented investigatory stop was a direct result of a particular ShotSpotter alert. That is, at least one investigatory stop is documented under a matching event number in 2.1% of all CPD responses to ShotSpotter alerts. Some of those events are also among those with dispositions indicating that evidence of a gun-related criminal offense was found, where an investigatory stop might have been among the steps which developed evidence of a gun-related criminal offense.Through a separate keyword search analysis of all ISR narratives within the analysis period, OIG identified an additional 1,366 investigatory stops as potentially associated with ShotSpotter alerts whose event number did not match any of the 50,176 confirmed and dispatched ShotSpotter alerts. OIG’s review of a sample of these ISRs indicated that many of these keyword search “hits” were in narratives referring to the general volume of ShotSpotter alerts in a given area rather than a response to a specific ShotSpotter alert.OIG concluded from its analysis that CPD responses to ShotSpotter alerts rarely produce documented evidence of a gun-related crime, investigatory stop, or recovery of a firearm. Additionally, OIG identified evidence that the introduction of ShotSpotter technology in Chicago has changed the way some CPD members perceive and interact with individuals present in areas where ShotSpotter alerts are frequent.

The OIG substantiated the allegation that James Fourcade, Broward County Transit (BCT)’s former director of maintenance, allowed Fraser Tool and Gauge, LLC, a brake kits vendor, to participate in the development of specifications used in a solicitation for a brake kits contract that the county subsequently awarded to Fraser.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development administers the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program, which received $316 million in federal funding to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic (ESG-CV) for individuals who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Th e following report details our conclusion that the department failed to expedite access to federal funding to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the homeless population.

The audit found STCC's spending of federal assistance under the CARES Act has been consistent with federal guidelines. The audit examined March 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020.

What Was Performed? An Examination of the Laurel School District’s Schedule of Construction Projects for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2019. Why This Engagement? School construction examination engagements, which are mandated, are performed to determine compliance with Delaware Code, the State of Delaware Department of Education School Construction Technical Assistance Manual, and the State of Delaware Budget and Accounting Policy Manual. This engagement was performed in accordance with 29 Del. C. § 7526 and examines Bond Bill construction project expenditures incurred by the school district. What Was Found? It is my pleasure to report this engagement contained an unmodified opinion.1 In addition, our examination disclosed one finding required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards: • Seventeen purchase orders totaling $15,453,118 were examined, and five of those purchase orders – totaling $12,550,445 – did not have a contract number listed. The Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2019, Statewide School Districts’ Construction Projects Examination Engagements for Laurel School District can be found on our website.

We have conducted an audit of Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) to determine whether its Division of Housing and Community Renewal (Division) is obtaining federal reimbursements on time and in a manner that recovers all costs, and adequately ensures the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) meets federal reimbursement documentation requirements. The audit covered the period from April 1, 2017 through December 31, 2020

This audit was conducted to review performance measures and cost-effectiveness of economic development programs. The audit found that the department spent 22% of its small business assistance pandemic relief funds and can improve its business contact information. Further, business attraction and retention activities can be more effectively evaluated, and performance measures and metrics could be better used to evaluate outcomes

This audit was conducted to review performance measures and cost-effectiveness of economic development programs. The audit found that the department spent 22% of its small business assistance pandemic relief funds and can improve its business contact information. Further, business attraction and retention activities can be more effectively evaluated, and performance measures and metrics could be better used to evaluate outcomes

ODCA is participating in the National Data Quality COVID-19 Audit effort led by the Delaware State Auditor. This multistate audit seeks to gather information about what COVID-19 data states are collecting and reporting to provide a basis for improved and more consistent data collection nationally in the future. DC Health has built detailed systems and teams to collect, analyze, and report COVID-19data. At the same time, opportunities exist for reporting more information that the public needs.