The stories of RTCC Center Managers are surprisingly similar. Visiting technology conferences and Crime Centers over the past few years, I was amused to learn just how similar our stories are, and they go something like this;
Chief: I want a crime center and your going to build it. Develop a proposal and budget for me as soon as possible.
Center Manager (to Chief): No problem, I'll start working on the project immediately.
Crime Center Manger (to self): what's a crime crime center and where do I start....
And then we spend the next year learning about camera systems, Artificial Intelligence, gunshot detection, ALPR, social media monitoring, drone detection, drone programs, crime analysis, 5G technology, radio systems, cellular routers, software systems, body cameras, in car cameras, mobile LPR systems, RTCC common operating platforms, intelligence sharing platforms, network cabling, and furniture.
Not to forget learning about purchasing laws, single source and sole source purchasing agreements, GSA purchasing and piggyback contracts, requests for proposals and request for quote procedures, selecting vendor, hoping in the end that all of the decisions you make will be correct and actually function together the way they are supposed to.
The LE Tech Forum on the Law Enforcement Technology Consulting site is one place to start. The goal of the forum is to provide a space for center managers and designers to post questions, ask for help, and offer their own experience in working ones way through the challenges of crime center development. The LE Tech Forum is a vendor free space and is intended to enable new managers and those seeking new technology solutions to find the advice and knowledge they need.
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