Los Angeles unveils ‘real time’ crime centers, aimed at helping officers rushing to scenes

The two largest law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County are following a trend seen across the country – setting up rooms from which authorities can use technology to rush relevant information to police officers or deputies as they respond to a scene.

The LA Sheriff’s Department opened its first Real-Time Watch Center on Friday morning, Sept. 27th at the Lost Hills station in Agoura Hills. Los Angeles Police Department is three months away from establishing its first center. LAPD will add the centers to the Hollywood, Van Nuys, and Central Los Angeles divisions.

The real-time systems can allow authorities to monitor private surveillance camera footage if residents or businesses choose to grant the police access to it when requested.

They will also have access to license plate reader technology and existing cameras at large intersections.

“A real-time crime center can actually paint a clear picture of the incident as it’s unfolding,”  LAPD Captain Anthony Espinoza of the department’s Innovation Management division said.

Real-time crime centers already are used by more than 300 departments across the country, including New York City, Detroit and Chicago. The Torrance Police Department opened their new center just two weeks ago.

“LAPD has been watching what other departments are doing and how they’re implementing it,” Espinoza said. “We’re taking their best practices and trying to bring it to Los Angeles.”

So far, more than 1,500 residents in the Malibu Canyon area have opted in to share their security camera locations with LASD, according to Lost Hills station Capt. Jennifer Seeto.

“Access will be used for routine patrol checks, monitoring areas during natural disasters, and responding to calls for service,” the department said in a news release.

Espinoza offered a couple of examples of how the centers benefit the public. A witness may not be able to offer necessary details about a crime, he said, but staff at the center can use the cameras to get a clear view. If a suspect is fleeing, their appearance, mode of transportation and direction of travel can be relayed to nearby officers.

When a 911 call comes to the Sheriff’s station, the registered cameras within the vicinity will pop up on the center’s digital map, LASD Sgt.Brandon Painter said.

The locations of registered cameras will be shared with LASD, but not the actual live stream footage – unless the owners of those cameras grant the department permission.

“Sharing does not mean the [LA Sheriffs] Department will have access to your camera … We will not share your information with anyone else, and will only contact you if a crime occurs in your neighborhood,” reads a flyer the department showed reporters on Friday.

“To the people who do share their camera with [LASD], I don’t want them to have that false impression that we’re going to be sitting there watching them,” Painter said. “We’re not sitting there looking at those cameras … it’s an event-driven system.”

The LAPD’s Central Division real-time center is expected to be completed in December, Captain Anthony Espinoza said, one year after the motion to expand the surveillance program was approved by the Los Angeles City Council.

The LAPD hopes to eventually have one real-time crime center in each of it’s 21 divisions, Police Chief Michel Moore said. He noted that the videos will result in better evidence for prosecution, as well.

“They (officers) can gain immediate access to that information, so they have a better chance of stopping the crime, protecting people from further harm and also identifying and bringing to justice those who are responsible,” he said.