In 2021, a driver in Albuquerque, NM, ran a red light, killing a 7-year-old and injuring his father. The suspect fled the scene, eventually fleeing to Mexico. Using body camera footage and cell phone data, the Albuquerque Police Department’s Real-Time Crime Center played a critical role in identifying, arresting, and charging the culprit. The driver was ultimately sentenced to 27 years in prison, providing a measure of justice for the grieving family.
Real-time crime centers are specialized units within police departments that use the latest technology to monitor public spaces and record incidents. The New York City Police Department was the first to establish a real-time crime center in 2005.
Real-time crime centers often rely on video surveillance, using closed-circuit television, license plate scanners, officer-worn body cameras and drone cameras. The centers can also incorporate gunshot detection and computer-aided dispatch systems, live or static facial recognition, cell phone tracking and geolocation data, and access to probation, parole and arrestee information. Police departments are adding cutting-edge innovations, such as deep-learning artificial intelligence-powered video analytics, to identify objects and assess people’s behavior.
Some real-time operations and surveillance methods in crime centers are controversial, especially those that use rapidly evolving technologies such as drones and automated image analysis.
As a criminal justice professor and criminologist, formerly with the Miami Police Department, I can explain how these centers operate and the safeguards they have in place to ensure accountability and appropriate use.
Direct assistance
Real-time crime centers typically operate 24 hours a day and serve several critical roles. They provide real-time video feeds and other critical data to officers responding to incidents. Police departments also use them to monitor ongoing situations, such as protests or threats to critical infrastructure.
In some real-time crime centers, such as those at the Chula Vista Police Department, near San Diego, and Metro Atlanta, drones serve as first responders and can stream live footage from the police station back to the center.
Real-time crime centers can also support investigations after an incident has occurred. The monitoring technologies can track the movement of a suspect’s vehicle, help document video evidence for prosecution, or even determine where shell casings can be found at a crime scene. Many incidents demonstrate how this process leads to faster resolution of criminal investigations, often allowing investigators to locate suspects in hours instead of days.
Agencies of all sizes are increasingly partnering with businesses and large institutions to share live CCTV video feeds. This collaboration allows agencies to access video feeds from venues such as hotels or arenas without having to install their own expensive equipment, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars per unit.
Extensive, but effective?
Real-time crime centers are expanding rapidly in the United States, with a 148% growth rate over the past four years. Approximately 150 police departments have adopted these units. Despite this growth, real-time crime centers are still considered relatively new to policing, and are used by less than 1% of all departments nationwide. Even among larger police departments, characterized by the number of full-time staff and associated budgets, only 12% have done so.
Despite the growing presence of real-time crime centers, only a few large studies have examined their impact. A 2019 evaluation of decentralized real-time crime centers within the Chicago Police Department found a 3% to 7% decrease in both violent and property crimes after the centers were installed. A study of the effectiveness of real-time crime centers using data from the same source found a 5% increase in violent crime solving, a 12% increase in property crime solving, and an 11% overall improvement in case resolution rates.
A more recent real-time evaluation of the Miami Police Department’s crime center found a 66 percent higher chance of solving violent crime cases compared to cases not supported by the center. The solution rate is a measure of how many reported crimes the police department successfully handles. A crime is considered solved when police arrest and charge those involved, or when it is resolved by other means, such as the death of the suspect or the victim’s refusal to cooperate.
However, real-time crime centers have shown limited effectiveness in addressing some types of violent crimes such as sexual assault and domestic violence, likely due to the typically private nature of these crimes. Further research is needed to fully understand how effective real-time crime centers can be for all types of crimes.
Protection against misuse
Accountability in policing is essential. The rapid advance of technology raises specific concerns about privacy, surveillance and secure storage of sensitive information.
These issues underscore the need for strong safeguards, which are rapidly evolving and sometimes overlooked by police or those responsible for the systems they acquire. Recently, police departments have implemented changes to address these concerns and alleviate systemic problems or biases in investigations, including changing policies for the use of technologies like facial recognition. Human verification remains critical to validating information and outcomes in each case.
Departments keep detailed records when a search or monitoring occurs, both to improve transparency and to justify additional support or funding. People can request this data through a Freedom of Information Act request or request information from their local agency’s Records Department, although fees may apply. Common documented materials include video footage and license plate reader data.
Records relating to less serious offences are generally retained for no longer than 30 to 90 days, while evidence relevant to murder investigations may be retained indefinitely. Records from ongoing investigations are generally withheld until the case is resolved.
Of the more than 1,100 agencies that use drones, most provide the public with access to a live drone flight map to improve transparency. Moreover, most are cautious that negative feedback from the community could lead to a program eventually being shut down.
Becoming everyday
Real-time crime centers are expanding rapidly across the country and will likely soon become commonplace in policing. The technologies they use are powerful, especially when combined in real time, but some of the concerns they raise are valid.
Kimberly Przeszlowski is an assistant professor of criminal justice at Quinnipiac University.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
