New tech is helping Killeen PD solve crimes in real time
KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) - The future of law enforcement is already making headway in Killeen with their Real Time Crime Center.
The Real Time Crime Center at KPD is using the latest technology to get critical information to officers on the ground.
Starting with viewing surveillance cameras through a live feed.
“Most of the cameras that we can view live, are city-run cameras,” said Asst. Chief Alex Gearhart, Killeen Pd. “We do have a handful now of privately owned cameras and those private businesses have elected to share their feeds with us.”
They can also view real time body camera feeds and more through software that runs most of the operation with the help of a GPS mapping system.
“Normally they keep those turned off unless they are actively needing them at any given time,” said Gearhart. “The ones we like to leave turned on are the locations that give us our schools and floorplans and that sort of thing, and our actually officer locations. We have a way to track our patrol cars and our individual officers on foot, by GPS.”
That map can do more that just show locations and bring up camera feeds.
They can also pull up building blueprints for places like schools.
“What’s cool about it, if he zooms in and clicks on that school, it gives us the floor plan of that school,” said Gearhart.
That can make a huge difference for officers responding to a school they have not been to.
According to Patrol Sergeant Mario Montalvo, who works in the RTCC, the live camera feeds are making all the difference for his officers in the field.
“When it comes to looking for crimes or seeing things happen, the stationary cameras are beneficial but the real time side of it, where the officers are on calls an stuff like that, the body cameras have helped,” said Sgt. Montalvo. “A lot more with information and being able to get that information to them faster.”
When asked how much this could have helped him as a young patrol officer, Montalvo relied, “Oh, a whole heck of a lot.”
The RTCC has been in full swing since St. Patrick’s Day and KPD says it has already helped make arrests and solve crimes at a much faster rate.
Right now they are working with city-owned cameras and those owned by a few private businesses but, they say the impact of the Real Time Crime Center can get if even bigger if more people in the community are willing to add their cameras to the list.
You can register your cameras with the department through their KPD Connect program.
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