A look inside Fort Worth's newly-expanded real-time crime center
FORT WORTH, Texas - The city of Fort Worth unveiled what it believes will give police extra eyes on the street.
The police department is expanding its real-time crime center where officers monitor more than eleven hundred cameras in the city.
Whatever you see happening on the streets of Fort Worth can likely be seen at the new Fort Worth Fusion Center.
"The amount of intelligence we’re able to feed the officers in the field is drastically changing," said Fort Worth Police Lt. Ward Robinson.
Fort Worth police are pulling back the veil on its real-time crime center, a hub of technology with an around-the-clock staff.
"We want to be able to control how we move into a scene in a lot more tactically advantaged position," Robinson said.
The new center boasts views via more than 1,150 cameras. They have gunshot detection with pinpoint ability within a five-mile radius, license plate reader capability and more.
"A citizen calls 911 and says this is happening, a robbery, a burglary, somebody driving fast in our neighborhood. Whatever it may be that’s causing them to call 911, we’re monitoring that," said Fort Worth Police Sgt. Joe Shipp.
Police point to scenarios where the technology is giving them an advantage such as the recent mass shooting in the Las Vegas Trail community. A captured license plate number eventually led to several suspects.
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"It’s a partnership between the police department and community members, different vendors. Maybe, we utilize their technology" said Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker. "And lastly, just making sure residents really that to keep people safe, it’s really our priority to make sure we’re integrating all these different opportunities."
Police say the evolving technology is not meant to infringe on the privacy of citizens but rather safety is the priority.
"Approximately 98% of those are overt cameras. We’re not hiding them. We’re not trying to disguise them," Robinson said. "We’re not doing anything to try and hide the fact that we’re using these cameras."
"Our number one thing is safety," Shipp said. "Safety for the officers, safety for the citizens and ultimately even safety for the actors that are committing the crimes."
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