DC's Real Time Crime Center opens to streamline police monitoring, investigations

WASHINGTON - D.C.’s Real Time Crime Center is officially up and running. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Pamela Smith are rolling it out as part of new safety initiatives meant to combat last year's surge in crime across the District.

The plans were first revealed late last year. There was a slight delay in opening the center, but we’ve learned it’s operational. 

"The policies and strategies we’ve put in place to rebalance our public safety ecosystem are helping us drive down crime, and the Real-Time Crime Center is part of those efforts," Mayor Bowser said in a statement released Monday.

The Crime Center would ensure police would have quick access to a District-operated camera as a situation unfolds Now, the District is working to enlist the help of people who have private security cameras.

The new program announced Monday is called CameraConnect D.C. and it would give police access to privately owned cameras that could assist in an investigation after the fact.

"We have been focused, for many years now, on how we expand our network of cameras because we know that video plays a key role in investigating cases and successfully prosecuting criminals. Now, we are calling on residents and businesses to partner with us through CameraConnect DC to help us build a safer, stronger DC," Bowser said. 

Whether you’ve got a camera that was purchased with a rebate provided by the District or not, the new program asks D.C. residents or business owners to register their cameras in case they capture footage that could help police solve a crime.

Chief Smith says the program is not a live feed of your camera but a tool to let police know there may be footage in the area connected to an investigation.

 "I want to be clear. By simply registering your camera in no way are you giving MPD live access to your camera footage. What it does is help us identify potential sources of video evidence around a possible crime and create a way for us to quickly communicate with you and ask for the video," Smith said. "You choose what you want to upload." 

A few months ago, it would have taken some time from when the 911 call was made for police to locate where a camera was, obtain the footage and get more information — all in a world where seconds matter.

D.C. leaders say the Crime Center streamlines the whole process.

Dispatchers learn where the 911 call is coming from, the Real Time Crime Center can quickly pull up a map and with a few simple clicks, see what cameras are nearby and what they might have captured. 

They can also see if license plate readers are close in case they have a vehicle description and all that information can quickly be relayed to officers in the field so they have an accurate understanding of the situation.

Christopher Lindenau runs Fusus, the company behind the software being used at the center. He explains the thinking here.

License plate leaders and surveillance cameras, they actually populate directly on this map," Lindenau said. "Prior to Fusus, an operator would have to go to three different locations. You’d have to go to a license plate reader interface, a camera interface, and a computer dispatch interface to do what we’re doing in one common operating picture." 

Another component of the center is an expansion of a program called Capital Shield, a public-private partnership between MPD and Kastle Systems, which provides security for many commercial and apartment buildings so MPD can directly access outside-facing cameras on participating buildings in case of an ongoing emergency.

"The origin of this was we were watching 24 and that’s what they did in that show, when they were chasing the bad guys and they could tunnel into private cameras and we thought why doesn’t that actually happen, and we made it happen," said Kastle Chairman Mark Ein.

The mayor’s office also says it’s hoping to expand the number of cameras and plate readers in the district in next year’s budget.