Real-time crime centers are revolutionizing police work. Here’s why they argue

In 2021, a driver in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ran a red light, killing a 7-year-old boy and injuring his father. The suspect fled the scene and eventually fled to Mexico. Using camera footage and cell phone data, the Albuquerque Police Department’s real-time crime center played a key role in identifying, apprehending and charging the wrongdoer. The driver was eventually 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 areas and record incidents. The New York Police Department was the first to establish a real-time crime center in 2005.

Real-time crime centers often focus on video surveillance, using closed-circuit television systems, license plate scanners, body cameras worn by police, and drone cameras. Sometimes these facilities include gun detection and computer-aided dispatch systems, live or static facial recognition, cell phone tracking and location data, and access to probation, parole and inmate information. Police departments are adding the latest innovations, such as video analytics powered by deep learning artificial intelligence, object identification and behavioral analysis of subjects.

Some real-time crime center operations and surveillance methods are controversial, especially those that use rapidly evolving technology, such as drones and automated image analysis.

As a professor of criminal justice and a criminologist embedded within the Miami Police Department, I can explain how these agencies work—and the safeguards they use to ensure accountability and proper enforcement.

Quick help

Real-time crime centers operate around the clock and fulfill several important roles. They provide real-time video feeds and other vital information to police 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 used by the Chula Vista Police Department, near San Diego, and in Metro Atlanta, drones serve as first responders and can stream live video from the field back to the facility.

Real-time crime centers can also support investigations after an incident occurs. Surveillance technology can track the movements of a suspect’s vehicle, help record video evidence for a prosecution, or even pinpoint where guns may be found at a crime scene. Many cases show how this process leads to faster decisions in criminal investigations, often allowing investigators to find suspects in hours instead of days.

Agencies of various sizes are increasingly partnering with business communities and large institutions to share live CCTV video. This partnership allows agencies to access video feeds from locations such as hotels or arenas without needing to install their own expensive equipment, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars per unit.

Expanding, but does it work?

Real-time crime centers are expanding rapidly across the US, growing 148% over the past four years. About 150 police agencies have adopted these institutions. Despite this growth, true crime centers are still considered relatively new to policing, used by less than 1% of all agencies nationwide. Even among the largest police agencies, characterized by the number of full-time staff and corresponding budgets, only 12% have done so.

Despite the increasing presence of real-time crime centers, few large-scale studies have investigated their impact. A 2019 evaluation of real-time crime centers distributed among the Chicago Police Department showed a 3% to 7% decrease in both violent and property crimes after the centers were installed. A real-time study of crime agency effectiveness using data from the same source revealed a 5% increase in solving violent crimes, a 12% increase in solving property crimes, and an 11% improvement.

A recent evaluation of the Miami Police Department’s true crime center found a 66% higher chance of clearing cases of violent crimes compared to cases not supported by the center. The clearance rate is a measure of how many reported crimes the police handle successfully. A crime is considered solved when the police arrest and charge those involved, or if it is solved in other ways, such as if the suspect dies or if the victim decides not to cooperate.

However, real-time crime centers have shown limited effectiveness in dealing with certain types of violent crimes such as sexual assault and domestic violence, possibly due to the often private nature of these crimes. More research is needed to fully understand how real-time crime centers can work across all types of crime.

Protections from abuse

Accountability in policing is important. The rapid development of technology raises certain concerns about the privacy, surveillance, and secure storage of sensitive information.

These stories emphasize the need for strong protection, which is emerging quickly and is sometimes ignored by the police or those in charge of the programs they receive. Recently, police departments have made changes to address these concerns to reduce systemic problems or bias in investigations, including changing policies on the use of technology such as facial recognition. Human validation is always important to verify information and results in each case.

Departments keep detailed records whenever a search or monitoring takes place, both to improve transparency and to justify additional support or funding. People can request these records through the Freedom of Information Act or request the information from their local records agency, although fees may apply. Commonly recorded items include video images and license plate reading data.

Records related to more serious crimes are generally kept for no more than 30 to 90 days, while evidence related to homicide investigations may be kept indefinitely. Data from an ongoing investigation is usually 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 visibility, and most recognize that negative public feedback could result in the program eventually being terminated.

Being normal

Real-time crime labs are rapidly expanding across the country and may soon become the norm in police work. The technology they use is powerful, especially when integrated 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 has been republished from The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the first article.