Public safety took a giant leap forward last week as the Atlanta Police Department brought the Operation Shield Video Integration Center online. The center is the foundational and most visible step in APD’s embrace of state-of-the-art video and software recognition technology for policing.
Developed over four years, the VIC enables the APD’s video monitoring unit to conduct 24/7 surveillance of high-traffic areas, including business and entertainment centers in downtown, Buckhead, Midtown and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
But this is only the start. As city budgets allow further investments, APD will extend video monitoring beyond the business and entertainment districts to neighborhoods, public parks and other public spaces.
Similar efforts in London, New York and Chicago have demonstrated that video monitoring leads to a reduction in crime rates, quicker arrests when crime occurs in a monitored zone, and a public with greater confidence in its safety and security.
The Atlanta Police Foundation, a private organization of business and civic leaders, spearheaded the effort to bring this advanced policing tool to APD. The foundation raised more than $500,000 to pay for the purchase and installation of the technology and researched other major city police departments to understand how it was integrated into day-to-day policing and crime investigation.
Embracing video technology adds eyes and ears that support our first responders. The equipment available today did not exist even 10 years ago. As Atlanta continues to expand Operation Shield, the use of sophisticated analytical software will be utilized to enhance APD’s ability to detect and respond to criminal acts.
The VIC is the pivotal component of Operation Shield, a strategic initiative to integrate public and private sector cameras into one consolidated system. This network of public and private cameras that monitor public spaces will deliver a crime deterrence factor of immense consequence.
A skilled police officer using video recognition software that identifies criminal activity can monitor up to 24 different locations at one time — considerably greater coverage than one officer on a beat.
Adapting technology to policing will enable APD to review crimes in real time, and adjust and prioritize resources based on real-time trends and emerging crime “hot spots.”
Adding officers to our police force is a necessary investment. The cost of equipping and training and paying salaries and benefits to a police officer is more than $100,000 annually.
Using technology to increase the scope and capability of a well-trained police force is a smart investment, costing a fraction of the dollars necessary to otherwise provide 24/7 surveillance.
In a post-9/11 world, Operation Shield will enhance the city’s emergency preparedness and emergency response capabilities.
The Atlanta Police Foundation’s vision for public safety is identical to that of Mayor Kasim Reed, APD Chief George Turner and the City Council: to ensure that Atlanta becomes the safest major city in the United States.
This effort to monitor public streets, sidewalks and other public spaces has sparked concern among some who cite privacy concerns and the rights of individuals to be free from intrusive government monitoring.
The VIC and Operation Shield, however, are designed to monitor public spaces, spot criminal activity when it occurs and provide a visual record to enable more effective police investigation. Cameras are mounted and trained only on public spaces — our streets, sidewalks, parking lots and parks.
In a world in which criminals have access to off-the-shelf technology, police must take advantage of technology that can make it more effective.
The residents of Atlanta have a right to live, work and play peaceably, safely and securely.
Dave Wilkinson is the president and CEO of the Atlanta Police Foundation.
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