RICHMOND, Va. -- Across the country, cities like Charlotte, St. Louis, Baton Rouge and Miami are establishing "Real Time Crime Centers" to combat criminal activity. Richmond could soon join the mix.
The cities using this technology have analysts that man the technology and resources center to create more efficient and effective policing.
The Baton Rouge Police Department shared a video on their social media explaining how the technology works to the public, saying it provides a plethora of information for police to have at their fingertips.
The Baton Rouge Police Department Real Time Crime Center includes multiple officers and analysts and a military liaison who works with their gang initiatives. They monitor all calls for service, all types of social media platforms, crime cameras, license plate readers and more.
The department said they find the technology useful to provide officers with more content on situations they are dispatched to while helping to solve crimes faster.
"Being able to see where our people are and what assistance I can give them is very helpful to me," the department said.
In his State of the City address, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said the city secured a $750,000 grant from the Commonwealth to launch a Real Time Crime Center in Richmond, describing it as an air traffic control center for officers. The initiative comes at a time when the police department is understaffed with shootings up last year.
"Real-time crime centers have the ability to maximize efficiency and speed of investigations," Stoney said.
The Richmond Police Department declined to interview on the topic but shared the following statement on the matter:
It will function as a centralized hub by aggregating critical information and data that can be shared in real-time to assist with solving crimes more efficiently and expediting the process of information sharing to our officers and detectives in the field.
The city council will have to approve the grant before the project can officially get underway. Council does not have a date for when they may vote on the grant.
