Peoria’s new Real Time Crime Center can help in emergencies

PEORIA, Ariz. — The Peoria Police Department is using new technology to help make their city safer. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Monday morning to reveal its new Real Time Crime Center.

Whether it’s a burglary, shooting, or even a car crash, emergencies can happen any day, any time. Now, with the completion of Peoria’s first-ever Real Time Crime Center, incidents across the city can be tracked as they happen, allowing the city’s police officers and firefighters to be dispatched quicker and with more information.

“Today our city embarks on a brand new path on keeping our community safe,” Chief of Police Thomas Intrieri said. “When officers are dispatched they know where to go, who to approach, they can get a description of vehicles and suspects, etc. But think about it. When there’s a major collision it’s the fire department as well. So it’s not just crime, now it’s a life preservation tool.”

The vision of the Real Time Crime Center turned into a reality about three to four years ago. It allows center personnel to tap into license plate readers as well as the city’s traffic cameras. An officer’s body cam can also be accessed and watched in real-time, giving valuable information as situations unfold.

“I’m excited,” Intrieri said. “I’ve seen the value Real Time Crime Centers bring to other communities. It’s exciting for us at Peoria to have this technology, and probably some of the best technology to date, to help further our mission for preservation of life and reducing crime here in Peoria.”

“Really it’s about the safety and wellbeing of our citizens,” Mayor Jason Beck said. 

Beck says the crime center is a valuable resource to have and believes it’ll help keep the community and first responders safe, especially as the city continues to grow.

“What keeps me up at night is making sure our officers and Firefighters are safe,” he said. “There’s no greater sacrifice than somebody putting themselves on the line like a police officer and firefighter does and what we want to make sure is we give them every tool they can to get back to their families.”

Funded by a $2.6 million grant from the state, staff are wrapping up their test phase. They say it’s already proved to be handy in a couple of scenarios, and say everything will be up and running in the next one to two weeks.