Springfield Police Announce New Crime Intelligence Center

More technology is being put into fighting crime in Springfield, Massachusetts. The city’s police department will become the first in the Northeast to use a system that developers say allows for true real-time crime analysis.

Springfield police officers responding to a 911 call will receive information from crime analysts in a second floor office in police headquarters, who use sophisticated software to quickly scan feeds from traffic cameras to locate getaway cars, or use a single search engine to scour in seconds multiple databases containing information on criminal suspects.

" The goal is to provide them with as much information so they have situational awareness when they respond to calls in progress that involve violence or property crimes or other critical incidents," said Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri on Friday as he unveiled the department’s Real Time Crime Analysis and Intelligence Center for city officials and members of the news media.

The center will receive video feeds from all city-owned cameras and some private cameras where owners have given permission. An acoustic gunshot detection system that Springfield has had for several years will also be tied-in. The crime analysts will have access to numerous databases containing photographs, descriptions of unknown suspects, criminal histories, and firearms records.

The department spent about $1 million to purchase the software and hardware for the new center and for police radio upgrades.

" It is our desire that through the use of this technology our officers will become more effective in aiding the citizens of this city," said Barbieri.

Representatives of Motorola Solutions, Inc, who put on a demonstration of some of the center’s capabilities Friday, said Springfield is the first city in the Northeast with this system.

Barbieri said the center will be fully operational by next spring and will have two supervisors and six full-time crime analysts.