Co. Springs Police launch new “Real Time Crime Center”, connecting cameras and data in seconds

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) is adding a new set of eyes to their enforcement efforts in the city, through the launch of their Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC).

CSPD joins other Colorado cities like Pueblo and Denver in the deployment of their RTCC. It's a specialized unit in the department that consists of an analyst and detectives who support officers responding to calls for service and other investigations by providing them with real-time information.

The data is collected from department records, law enforcement databases, and other integrated technologies. They say access to this type of information increases officers' efficiency while out in the field.

The RTCC operates using a technology platform called Fusus. It's a map-based integration tool that combines private and public video streams, camera locations, law enforcement data, floor plans, live positions of first responders, live drone footage, and more.

All of that information is provided to the RTCC personnel and is then distributed to the responding officer or detective as needed. CSPD says what used to take hours or even days to do can now happen in a matter of minutes.

The department says that building floor plans are a key piece of information for their officers, adding that they've already collected a majority of the floor plans for the school districts within their patrol areas.

CSPD says however, that the community can play a big role in the RTCC through a new program called Together COS. Homeowners or business owners can choose to register their security cameras with the department to allow them access, in one of two ways.

The Camera Registration option: Community members can sign up with Fusus to let CSPD know they have personal security cameras at their home or business. By informing CSPD that you have cameras, it is easier for officers to conduct follow-up investigations in a neighborhood where a crime occurred by contacting those who have cameras.

An officer or detective can email everyone in the vicinity of the crime asking those to search their video for suspicious activity. Users can then upload the video directly to the link provided by the detective. Providing video is completely voluntary and registering your camera does not give CSPD open access to your cameras or video.

The Camera Integration option: is designed primarily for businesses in the city. A business can purchase a Fusus core that will integrate its security cameras with CSPD. That way if a serious crime occurs, detectives will have instant access to review the video camera recordings and will be able to download the video for their investigation.

"Rather than having a detective go out to a robbery or a carjacking or something that happens out there... and having to canvass every single business, we can now see, well, all of these people are registered and the efficiencies there that provides us is huge." explained Chief Vasquez on the time-saving ability of either registration options.

Commander Doug Trainer, who oversees the CSPD Metro Unit that houses the RTCC affirmed that they will not have 24/7 access to the cameras if they're Integrated, but will only be accessed during an emergency situation, with permission.

One business that is already utilizing the Fusus cores in their products is Fidelity Security Solutions based in Colorado Springs, which is owned by Steve Noblitt, a former CSPD officer.

He currently rents two security camera rigs to the Ford Amphitheater property, which are constantly streaming their cameras to CSPD.

"Something like this can give law enforcement the edge or the advantage where they know they can map out where these guys are going and get ahead of it and in real time." said Noblitt. "I was very excited at the opportunity to implement this and put this in our systems. And as far as I know, we're the only ones offering it, but it needs to spread citywide and it will help law enforcement immensely." he later added.

CSPD says that during some of the most serious crimes, like an active shooter situation, the police department will be able to live stream the cameras to help identify and locate any potential suspects.

As one example, Chief Vasquez recalled the challenges that his department faced during the Planned Parenthood shooting in November 2015, when trying to get security video from the building for their investigation.

"During Planned Parenthood, we actually had to have somebody come in that knew the camera system, had access to the camera system and then provide us the link. And I remember this taking so long for that to happen." explained Chief Vasquez.

Another aspect of the RTCC is the use of the departments Drones as First Responders program. The newer program allows for a drone to be dispatched to certain types of calls in order to gain more information for possible responding officers soon after.

"[The program] allowed us to go through the FAA and obtain a Beyond Visual Line of Sight waiver, which allows us to fly the drone from the rooftop of the police operations center and send it to areas in our community without having to drive there." explained Commander Trainer. He says that normally, police have to have a line of sight on their drones, limiting how much they can use them.

The drone will help those in the dispatch center know the scope of what is needed for an emergency response and can communicate that information to responding officers.

Dispatchers can also determine information that may be available about victim or suspect locations, and even cancel a call for service before an officer arrives if an emergency is not actually taking place.

By using drones to gather more information the department says that patrol resources can be dispatched more efficiently to the most important calls within the community, lowering response times.

CSPD clarifies that their department will not be using drones to "patrol" the city from the skies, but rather emphasizes that they will be used purely as a dispatch tool.

If you're a homeowner, or business owner that wants to register your security cameras to CSPD, you can do so by clicking here, and following the instructions.