Introduction: Department Overview
The Albuquerque Police Department (APD) is the most popular and powerful metropolitan law enforcement agent which serves Albuquerque city. APD has been battling an upsurge in sophisticated violent crimes. According to Crime Data Explorer (CDE) (n.d.), APD is at Bernalillo County in New Mexico, and its crime records are forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) via National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).
CDE continues that the APD began the NIBRS data submission to the FBI on 31st December of the year 2017. Evidence-Based (EB) and Community-Based (CB) policing techniques depend on the department’s ability to collect and analyze real-time data, which is currently lacking a centralized and coordinated manner. Other officers and the region commander are in need of this proposal to use in planning ways to reduce violent crimes in the city of Albuquerque.
Proposed Unit and Goals
The unit being proposed is the Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC). RTCC is a cutting-edge operations center functioning as the Department’s information hub (Przeszlowski et al., 2023). It reinforces CB public safety initiatives aimed at preventing and reducing crime, delivering effective and efficient police services. RTCC is likewise known for improving officers’ and citizens’ safety. There is a great need for RTCC to successfully tackle new criminal tendencies with a major goal of raising community safety. It will act as a central location for gathering, processing, and sharing real-time data, which will facilitate informed decision-making.
The RTCC’s other goal will be to support EB policing by giving precise and timely data for resource allocation and proper analysis of violent crimes. Moreover, it will support openness and public involvement through the release of real-time crime data, which will aid in CB policing. According to Przeszlowski et al. (2023), “RTCC technologies have improved the ability of police to solve violent crimes and reduced crime levels, particularly sexual assaults…” (p. 2). This quoted statement approves that police agencies can improve their response to violent crimes. Therefore, through the RTCC application, police agencies will access a multitude of IT resources, enhance their capacity to investigate crimes, and perfectly set and coordinate their operations.
Nonetheless, by giving police access to immediate, actionable investigation intelligence and building their capacity to crime resolution, RTCC technology can improve EB policing. The Miami Police Department’s RTCC was created to oversee a number of IT systems, including social networking software, CCTV cameras, license plate scanners, face recognition software, and gunshot detection software (Przeszlowski et al., 2023). This denotes that the application of RTCC technology will boost evidence gathering and processing, resulting in the development of extremely potent policing tactics.
Similarly, by strengthening law enforcement-community ties and advancing public trust, the deployment of RTCC technology can also have an influence on the concepts of CB policing. It has been observed that the use of RTCC technology lowers crime rates, especially those related to sexual assaults, in many areas (Przeszlowski et al., 2023). This implies that the application of RTCC technology strengthens community safety and well-being and fosters more cordial relations between law enforcers and the public.
In addition, the need for RTCC is critical since the data exposes how violent crime has been escalating. This graph is from the CDE’s website, and it shows that in the previous 10 years, APD’s violent crime rate has significantly increased. The APD finds it difficult to address these trends in crime without an RTCC’s intervention. Rapid analysis of crime data by RTCC will allow for prompt resource allocation and action. From the graph, it is clear that the increase in crime is constant and more than its reduction, and thus, there is a need for RTCC.
Staffing
In every plan, there must be humans to implement the ideas. Przeszlowski et al. (2023) clarified, “Staffed individuals within RTCCs possess the ability to actively monitor critical infrastructure and assets…” (p. 4). It suggests that these people should be equipped with the knowledge and abilities needed to supervise and plan the activities of several technical systems. Technological experience on plate scanners, CCTV cameras, software for facial recognition, gunshot detection software, and social media platforms.
Firstly, there will be a need to engage with other Organizations and Departments; this will be necessary since RTCC will be in need of varying support, especially from the Information Technology (IT) team. IT team will work together with the Cybersecurity department to ensure data protection and tackle cybercrime. Cybercrime team will be critical because even physical attacks and crimes are orchestrated through computer networks.
Secondly, it will be necessary to include the Crime Investigative (CI), Public Relations (PRs), and Record teams to analyze crime critically, give progress reports from the community, and manage data, respectively. Thirdly, Police Officers will also aid in coordinating investigations and responses. Fourthly, it will be impossible to leave out the Legal team, which will ensure that APD is running its activities within the law, particularly on issues of privacy. Therefore, IT, Cybersecurity, PRs, CI, and Record are some of the departments to closely take part in the initiative. These departments will need a couching session on interdisciplinary principles to be able to support RTCC objectives accordingly.
Funding
The three basic funding programs for RTCC are grants, Departmental Budget (DB), and partnering with private and public institutions. Firstly, the RTCC’s initial setup and running costs will be covered by a portion of the department’s budget. Departmental budgeting will equally provide the manager with more control over spending inside their offices. This will enable them to do fundamental performance analyses of every team and individual to ensure no funds embezzlement. As a result, such strict inspection by the manager (s) will help APD in meeting its goals.
Concerning grants, there will be an aggressive pursuit of federal and state funding intended expressly for policing technology upgrades. Hasbrouck (2020) affirmed, “…Where Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) currently awards grants, the new division would act as a gatekeeper for all federal funding to local police departments…” (p. 1128). The statement confirms that COPS can give grants, so RTCC will request funds from it. On public and private entities, funding opportunities may arise from collaborations with commercial sector entities. For example, by engaging in safety or environment conservation groups, RTCC may receive aid or develop a positive public reputation for meeting its corporate social responsibilities.
Operational Timeline
The operations will take place in stages:
- Stage One: (0 to 8 weeks)- Forming a committee, start organizing for initial funding, and hiring for important roles on staff, such as the IT and CI teams.
- Stage Two: (8 weeks to 16 weeks)- Obtaining the technical infrastructure and devices that are required, training the Recording team to begin data integration processes.
- Stage Three: (24 weeks to 32 weeks)- Providing the RTCC with standard operating procedures and launching training initiatives and community outreach.
- Stage Four: (40 weeks to 48 weeks)- Hiring more personnel, such as PR officials and cybersecurity experts, then commence reporting and analyzing data in real-time.
Conclusion
In summary, in order to combat the rising crime patterns and enhance neighborhood safety in Albuquerque city, the APD must build RTCC. The RTCC will deliver fast and reliable data to assist decision-making, encourage community participation, and strengthen law enforcement activities via the use of EB and CB policing concepts. As a team, it is a guarantee that this important initiative’s effective execution with a clear plan and well-chosen financing sources will perfectly reduce crime rates.
References
Crime Data Explorer. (n.d.). Web.
Hasbrouck, B. (2020). Abolishing racist policing with the thirteenth amendment. UCLA Law Review Discourse, 68, 1109-1129. Web.
Przeszlowski, K., Guerette, R. T., & Sudderth, L. K. (2023). The role and impact of the use of information technologies by police in response to violence against women. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(12), 1-18. Web.