Mayor, public-safety officials tout success of Real Time Crime Center
17th December 2018 · 0 Comments
On Dec. 3, joined by several public safety leaders and crime-fighting partners, Mayor LaToya Cantrell marked the first anniversary of the City’s Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC), touted its success, and announced future growth of the crime-fighting initiative.
“We have seen the center, in real time, prevent crimes from happening. We’ve seen – in real time – how it’s allowed us to solve and clear cases. This is a holistic approach to improving the overall quality of life in the City of New Orleans… and that will grow. We’ve only scratched the surface,” said Mayor Cantrell.
The New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (NOHSEP) operates the 24/7 Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC), which leverages technology to provide critical information to first responders in the field and to assist with investigations of criminal activity or quality of life concerns.
“In our first year, we have successfully deployed technology, training staff and streamlined operations to support our public safety agencies on the ground,” said Collin Arnold, director of the city’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, which oversees the Real-Time Crime Center.
Opened in November 2017, the RTCC is a state-of-the-art facility modeled after best practices in public safety monitoring across the globe.
The RTCC was created as a part of the 2017 $40 million Citywide Public Safety Improvement Plan. For more information, visit nola.gov/rtcc.
Opened in November 2017 with a staff of six, it has grown to a staff of 18.
It has installed 260 public safety cameras this year, bringing the total number of City-owned public safety camera feeds to over 340.
The RTCC has worked more than 2,300 requests for assistance, providing relevant footage for 70 percent of those requests.
During flood events, the City can verify reports of flooding, prioritize response and share this information with the Department of Public Works and the Sewerage and Water Board.
At the request of the Department of Sanitation, the City has hung cameras in hotspots for illegal dumping. Just last week, footage captured illegal dumping in the Fifth District, with an investigation underway.
During special events, the RTCC can help guide paramedics to less-trafficked routes to help them get to the hospital as quickly as possible.
The RTCC also worked with the Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal to provide assistance in root-cause analysis for fires in the vicinity of the cameras.
RTCC has saved an estimated 2,000 manpower hours in the New Orleans Police Department, allowing officers more time to build trust with the public and build better cases.
Managed by the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation, SafeCam NOLA connects private, public-facing security cameras with the City of New Orleans.
SafeCam Platinum is an exciting new program that allows residents and businesses to install public-facing security cameras and share the footage directly with the Real-Time Crime Center.
• How it works:
• Visit SafeCamNola.com and select a partner integrator.
• Schedule an appointment with your selected integrator to purchase and install an RTCC-compatible camera(s).
• Use your internet connection to transmit live video to a cloud storage platform.
• Enjoy the benefits of RTCC integration with shared video in real time.
If you already have a security camera, let the New Orleans Police Department know so they can contact you should they need to request footage related to an incident. Register your camera with SafeCamNola.com.
This article originally published in the December 17, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
