ShotSpotter identifies a suspect.
Cape Town’s Safety and Security Directorate is reviewing its gunshot detection system, known as ShotSpotter, as another major technology contract in the metro’s crime-fighting arsenal comes under scrutiny.
The development follows the Cape Argus revealing that the City’s R100 million “Eye in the Sky” contract was cancelled in August 2025 due to non-compliance issues. In a separate update, Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith said the City was not at liberty to disclose details of a new safety and security tender after budget reallocations linked to the earlier contract’s collapse.
The ShotSpotter system, now operated under SoundThinking, was first introduced in Cape Town as a pilot project in Hanover Park in 2016 before being expanded to areas including Manenberg and Lavender Hill from 2023.
According to Smith, the three-year gunshot detection technology tender has now run its course and is under review.
