PEORIA, Ill. – The Peoria Police Department will continue using a vital tool for violent crimes.
On Tuesday night, the city council unanimously approved a three-year contract for the ShotSpotter service.
The service will cost the city $316,035 each year. Police Chief Brad Dixon says the money was already included in the police department’s budget.
Peoria Police has used ShotSpotter since 2013, and expanded it in 2015. The service detects when shots are fired in a location, and helps police get to a scene faster, and collect evidence faster.
Before the vote, Dixon urged the city council to renew the contract, saying ShotSpotter is ”at the front of its violent crime response.”
In documents provided to the city council, Peoria Police responded to nearly 2,000 ShotSpotter alerts in 2024 and 2025 combined. The alerts coincided with 143 shooting incidents that resulted in 166 victims, with 25 fatalities.
