Inside the High-Tech Real Time Crime Center That’s Keeping 110,000 City Residents Safe

Equipped with a CineMassive visualization system featuring four high-resolution video walls and several auxiliary displays, the Miami Gardens Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center allows officials to monitor and stop crime quickly and efficiently.

CI Staff
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With all the high-tech monitoring software and display hardware available today, one would think that most of the nation’s police departments, government buildings and other important protection agencies would be equipped with this technology in order to keep the public safe.

Unfortunately, many police departments still operate with low-tech equipment when it comes to monitoring crime.

This was the case with Miami Gardens Police Department in 2015, when the department decided it was time to enhance its operations with new high-tech crime monitoring software and hardware in order to better protect and serve the city’s 110,000 residents.

In conjunction with city officials, Miami Gardens Police Department proposed the creation of a new Real Time Crime Center that would be equipped with a powerful video wall system. The residents approved the proposal and agreed to fund the facility through the city’s $60 million general obligation bond.

Photos: Inside Miami Gardens Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center

The City of Miami Gardens hired CineMassive as the vendor for the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC)’s video wall solution.

“We needed a company that could deliver a complete system,” says Miami Gardens Sergeant Erik Gleason in a CineMassive report. CineMassive was hired due to its ability to design and deliver a turn-key solution that included video walls, a video wall controller and software.

CineMassive worked closely with Miami Gardens Police Department and city officials to implement a visualization system featuring four high-resolution video walls and several auxiliary displays.

The system connects two main spaces within the RTCC—a large control room for day-to-day operations and a Joint Operations Center (JOC) for collaboration with federal agencies.

The RTCC, which was completed in August 2016, features the following high-tech solutions:

  • The facility’s main control room features three bright CineView LCD Video Walls displaying an arrangement of camera feeds and real-time policing tools. Built in configurations of 6×2, 5×2 and 4×2 displays, the video walls feature ultra-narrow bezels, creating a seamless effect.
  • In the JOC, a smaller 2×2 video wall and two auxiliary displays are mounted above the conference table.
  • The police chief’s office, conference room and the assistant police chief’s office are also equipped with auxiliary displays, providing officials with a real-time view of activity on the video wall system.

While at their workstations within the RTCC control room, officials monitor video analytics programs, license plate scanners, television news and ShotSpotter, a real-time gunfire detection solution that maps the located on where shots are fired in Miami Gardens.

The RTCC team also use Live Earth, a digital PSIM platform that pulls real-time data from emergency calls, surveillance applications and more into a live, 3D map of the city.

A CineMassive Alpha video wall controller allows all of these tools and applications to be displayed on the video wall system simultaneously. By bringing data sources together into a single view, analysts can visualize crime hotspots, identify connections between crimes, and contextualize incidents within larger trends.

WATCH: Inside Miami Gardens Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center

When an incident occurs, the team uses CineNet video wall software to display and manage the tools they need on the video wall.

With CineNet, operators can load pre-arranged layouts of applications, zoom in on selected camera feeds, and dynamically pull in new content sources as needed.

According to CineMassive, the user-friendly software helps the team gather intelligence quickly so they can provide responding officers with critical insights.

“With CineNet, we’re able to easily control any video feed or data source on the video wall from any of our monitors,” Sergeant Gleason explains in the CineMassive case study.

With its new Real Time Crime Center equipped with the CineMassive visualization system, Miami Gardens Police Department can now identify crime trends and hotspots, use its resources more effectively, and work faster and safer to intercept criminals.

“At the end of the day, the true benefit of the RTCC is what it will give to the citizens of the community. Living in fear isn’t something anyone wants to do, and it’s something our community shouldn’t tolerate. We are looking forward to the RTCC decreasing the amount of fear in our citizens from being victimized,” says Sergeant Gleason in the CineMassive report.

Also See: How This Video Wall Technology Is Helping to Save Lives

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