NCJ Number
215714
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 33 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2006 Pages: 50,52-58,60,62
Date Published
August 2006
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article describes how the New York City Police Department's Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) is making detectives' work easier and quicker.
Abstract
Prior to the creation of the RTCC, homicide detectives would arrive at a homicide scene with limited information, usually information from the 911 caller who reported the homicide. They would then develop leads by canvassing the area where the body was found and interviewing prospective witnesses and suspects. The detectives would then leave the field and search multiple, separate data systems through multiple logins and interfaces in order to find information they believed might be relevant to the case. With the RTCC in place, however, the 43 detectives and officer analysts who compose its staff begin collecting information on a case even before the detectives assigned the case leave their offices. RTCC data searches based on information obtained through the 911 call can yield a telephone number, features of the crime's location, names, vehicle descriptions, etc. This information is available to detectives when they reach the scene. While at the scene, detectives have wireless access to the RTCC. They can log in and obtain information the RTCC analysts have already compiled on the incident and request additional information from the RTCC as the investigation proceeds. Currently, the RTCC has access to more than 120 million New York City incident reports and 911 calls back to 1995; more than 5 million New York State criminal records and parole and probation files; more than 31 million national crime records; and more than 35 billion public records. Information relevant to particular investigations can be retrieved through multiple word searches. Searches based on current case information can produce additional leads on suspects, vehicles, weapons, crime patterns, locations, etc.