I am a long-term investor in SoundThinking, Inc (SSTI), formerly ShotSpotter. One key tenet of my bullishness abruptly came undone with the election of Brandon Johnson as mayor of Chicago. Johnson promised to give ShotSpotter (as it was called then) the boot if elected despite reportedly strong public support for the software. Chicago has supported SoundThinking since 2012. Lori Lightfoot even extended the city’s contract to February, 2024 before losing her re-election bid in the first vote of the mayoral election. While Johnson’s transition team has yet to confirm that SoundThinking’s days are numbered in Chicago, I expect SoundThinking to receive a fresh wave of intense criticism and skepticism.
Fortunately, Ralph Clark is a capable CEO. His leadership and experience is a core reason why I have stuck by his company all these years. Like a good leader, Clark quickly went to work to remediate the damage. His first step: rebranding the company as SoundThinking. Johnson pivoted the messaging away from the surveillance technology and toward a comprehensive solution for public safety:
“The new name reflects the company’s focus on public safety through industry-leading law enforcement tools and community-focused solutions for non-law enforcement entities to utilize for a holistic approach to violence prevention, social services and economic assistance.
As part of its corporate rebrand, SoundThinking is proud to introduce its SafetySmart Platform™, an integrated suite of four data-driven tools that enable law enforcement and community violence prevention and health organizations to be more efficient, effective, and equitable in driving positive public safety outcomes. The company’s flagship acoustic gunshot detection technology, ShotSpotter, will retain its name as a product.”
The SafetySmart Platform is not a new product launch. Instead, the packaging brings closer attention to a broad solution for cities looking to provide more support to public safety efforts through multiple modalities. Again, from the press release:
- ShotSpotter is an acoustic gunshot detection system that alerts police to virtually all gunfire within a coverage area in less than 60 seconds, helping reduce police response times to gun crimes and save lives.
- CrimeTracer is a law enforcement search engine that enables investigators to search through more than 1 billion criminal justice records from across jurisdictions to generate tactical leads and quickly make intelligent connections.
- CaseBuilder is a one-stop investigative management system for tracking, reporting, and collaborating on cases. It produces a single electronic courtroom-ready document to help prosecutors clear cases and take offenders off the streets.
- ResourceRouter is software that directs the deployment of patrol and community anti-violence resources in an objective way to help maximize the impact of limited resources and improve community safety.
In earnings next month, I will be looking for early evidence that the rebranding is resonating with city officials. I also want to know what kind of pricing options SoundThinking will offer to budget-conscious city governments.
The Trade
I was originally tempted to fold up shop after the first 22.4% plunge in SSTI. However, the October lows offered the potential for providing technical support. Moreover, I hate joining a panicking stampede. My confidence in Clark also helped stay my hand. Finally, I have traded enough around my core position to build a psychological buffer around my SSTI shares.
So far, so good. Investors responded positively to the rebrand (announced at the beginning of last week) with the October lows offering nearby technical support. Now, I can even start to imagine potential upside from a positive change in news flow from Chicago. If SSTI continues to stabilize, I may even add to my core holdings.
Be careful out there!
Full disclosure: long SSTI