NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk city leaders are moving forward with their latest effort to fight crime – creating a Real Time Crime Center (RTCC).
During a presentation to city council this week, Interim Police Chief Mike Goldsmith said the crime center will act as a hub run by 21 people who will be mostly civilians and some officers.
They’ll oversee multiple cameras at once, including city-owned cameras, license plate readers and live feeds from schools and hospitals. The RTCC will allow them to watch suspicious activity play out in real time allowing officers to respond quickly.
“If we see something developing before it actually erupts into violence, we can get officers there and hopefully quell a disturbance before it turns into something more tragic,” Goldsmith said.
Community activist Clay Marquez, who is the president of the anti-crime group Guns Down, likes the idea of using crime-fighting technology but has concerns it might lead to racial profiling or harassment.
“There’s going to be a lot of concerned citizens, I can tell you that, and a lot of false alarms,” said Marquez.
Goldsmith argues it’ll pave the way for better policing and put more eyes on the ground to help the police force, which is down more than 200 officers.
“This isn’t about mass incarceration,” said Goldsmith. “It is about looking at who the violent people are; looking at where they’re at; what they’re engaged in, the who, what and where of what’s going on.”
Starting costs for the crime center total $1,960,200 with most of the money coming from the state. A bigger challenge, Goldsmith said is budgeting for the recurring costs of $661,500 a year.
That’s money Marquez thinks might be better spent on boots on the ground efforts.
“Where’s the money going to come from?” said Marquez. “I think there’s a lot of money out there that a lot of us could use out here and get out here in these communities and work them ourselves, do what we can.”
The police chief plans on having the RTCC up and running by June. An exact location for it is still being discussed.
The Newport News Police Department has an RTCC that Goldsmith said he’s visited and is using as a model. Hampton Police have something similar.
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