PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Topper, Michael
AU  - Ferrazares, Toshio
TI  - The Unintended Consequences of Policing Technology
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.1024-13929R2
DP  - 2026 Jul 13
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 1024-13929R2
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2026/07/02/jhr.1024-13929R2.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2026/07/02/jhr.1024-13929R2.full
AB  - Technology is integral to police departments, automating officer tasks, but inherently changing their time allocation. We investigate this by studying ShotSpotter, a technology that automates gunfire detection. Following a detection, officers are dispatched to the scene, thereby reallocating their time. We leverage this shock to officers’ time allocation using the rollout of ShotSpotter across Chicago police districts to study the effects on 911 response. We find consequences for calls unrelated to gunfire—officers are dispatched slower (22%), arrive on-scene later (13%), and the probability of arrest is decreased 9%. Consequently, departments must evaluate their resource capacities prior to implementing technologies.