Dunwoody, a city on the edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area, has stepped up its public safety game with the launch of a new Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC). The Dunwoody Police Department unveiled this high-tech hub on Thursday, aiming to provide a more immediate response to criminal activities and improve officer safety. As detailed by FOX 5 Atlanta, the RTCC integrates footage from live cameras, gunshot detection technology known as ShotSpotters, and License Plate Readers into a singular platform, thereby enhancing the police's ability to monitor and react to incidents as they unfold.
"It's like having extra eyes and ears out there," Dunwoody Police Chief Mike Carlson said in a statement obtained by FOX 5 Atlanta. The RTCC operates with a staff presence of roughly 40 hours a week, and there is an ambition to scale this up to a 24/7 operation. In practice, this integration means if there's a gunshot, officers are immediately notified in the field and can self-dispatch to those locations, as per the operation model described by 11Alive.
Further expanding on the capabilities of the RTCC, Chief Carlson mentioned the near-future integration of drones into the system. "With the push of a button, it will launch from a rooftop and go to the scene where we need the drone, so it will give us eyes and ears over the scene," Carlson told FOX 5 Atlanta. This technological advancement comes amid a nationwide trend of police departments turning to tech solutions to compensate for understaffing and to modernize their crime-fighting tools.
The development of this state-of-the-art facility didn't come without a cost. Dunwoody's Real-Time Crime Center comes with a price tag of $360,000, funded through SPLOST dollars. Chief Carlson and city officials are considering it a worthwhile investment, as the center is expected not only to make Dunwoody a safer community but also to bolster the department's ability to solve crimes more effectively. "We have the technology to not only make Dunwoody a safer community but it also enables us to solve crimes," Chief Carlson was quoted as saying in FOX 5 Atlanta's coverage of the unveiling.
Maj. Patrick Krieg of the Dunwoody Police Department also noted the relief and support the RTCC provides to officers. "It's a forced multiplier in that way. And honestly, I think it relieves our officers in a way, that they know there's always someone out there looking for 'em and kind of has their six," Krieg told 11Alive. With the adoption of the RTCC, Dunwoody seeks to forge a path where technology and law enforcement work in tandem, setting an example for other cities grappling with similar challenges.
