Philadelphia police now have 24-hour real-time surveillance center

These days, when Philadelphia police officers respond to robberies and shootings, they might learn that video surveillance from the scene has already been pulled from cameras in the area.

Officers in neighborhoods known for car thefts, meanwhile, might be handed an automatic license-plate reader that can scan thousands of vehicles within a few hours.

And in the future, the half hour it might take to conduct database searches for criminal records and other information could be cut to 30 seconds.

It hasn't happened overnight, but the Philadelphia Police Department is making advances in updating its technology. Philadelphia is now one of about 10 cities in the country with a Real-Time Crime Center, a 24-hour hub of video surveillance, databases, and other resources. The center is funded largely with federal money.

The center, which went to 24-hour staffing last month, was developed as a way for officers to assist investigators from a tactical perspective by quickly accessing information about crimes, identifying potential suspects, and even heading off crimes.

The center, overseen by Capt. Joseph McDowell, has been developing in phases for at least two years, and has been in the works for more than four. The team of officers who staff the center said it was already streamlining some aspects of police work.

"It's a work in progress, but it's definitely a step in the right direction," Philadelphia Detective Brian Klak said. "This is providing us with a way to make investigations move faster."

Housed off the lobby of police headquarters at Eighth and Race Streets, the center is equipped with a row of computers and a large wall screen onto which images from cameras around the city are projected.

Officers at the center see every 911 call that comes in and can pull up camera images from crime scenes immediately. Then, when officers respond, the center might already have video footage that shows which way a perpetrator ran, or what a shooter looked like.

"The goal is to speed up an investigation," Klak said. "To give the officers a head start when they get to the scene."

In addition to the city's network of cameras, officers have access to SEPTA's surveillance system. Earlier this month, when a man was robbed at a station on the Broad Street Line in South Philadelphia, officers at the center were able to grab a clear picture of the robber's face as he ran off.