Why a police department's real-time crime center is an IT project

A real-time crime center is easy to picture: video walls, camera feeds, analytics and analysts helping officers in the field. What gets far less attention is the technical work behind it. Someone has to keep the systems secure, someone has to answer the call when they fail, and someone has to know what it will all cost a few years down the road. Chiefs don’t need to become IT experts, but they do need to understand that a real-time crime center is, at its core, an IT project, and the decisions made on that side often determine whether it keeps delivering long after opening day.

On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley talks with Eric Jensen, IT manager for service operations for the city of Tempe, Arizona, which launched its Real-Time Operations Center in July 2024. Jensen developed a list of more than 99 questions agencies should ask before building or expanding a center, and here he translates the IT side into police terms. He explains who should staff and support a center, why “no IT needed” is a red flag from a vendor, how connected cameras can become a security risk, and what a contingency plan should include. He also covers the costs that tend to grow after launch and shares the three things he would want every chief to ask before spending any money.

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