APD opens Real-Time Crime Center

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - It's a crime fighting tool that sounds like it's out of the movies. It gives instant information to cops entering potentially deadly situations.

The Albuquerque Police Department announced Wednesday the launch of the new technology, called a Real-Time Crime Center.
 
If someone makes a call to 911 for an emergency and the name of a person is given by the caller, police officers in this center can start searching records through dozens of databases on that name.  Then they alert officers of any mental health issues, restraining orders or criminal history they might have.

The new system will also send any information needed for the cop to do their job right to their smart phone.  

"I looked at the call and that's all that I had, was the phone number," said Detective Nicholas Sanders, who runs the center.  "With the phone number, I was able to historically look it up, figure out who it probably belonged to, put an address into it.

"It was actually a half a block away from where officers had the ping off of the cell phone towers."

APD is spending $265,000 to remodel part of the old main police station into the RTTC.

APD has been testing the program for the last three weeks for calls in southeast Albuquerque.

"We will be sharing information with the New Mexico Fusion Center, which means we're not just going to share the information we gather and keep it with ourselves," APD Chief Ray Schultz said.  "We're going to share it around the region because we all know criminals don't stop at city and county limits."

Right now there is just one officer with one desk, but by January APD says that number will rise to eight.

APD is the first police department in the country to use this technology for these purposes.