TPD Using Real Time Information Center To Solve Crimes

Tulsa Police say the city’s Real Time Information Center is helping solve crimes.

TPD activated the crime center last summer, which has live video feeds from more than 40 cameras around the city.

The main focus of the real-time information center is reducing the time between when a crime happens and when an arrest is made. This center gives police eyes everywhere and instant information.

Tulsa Police arrested Hailey Adair this week after they said they got an alert from the Real Time Crime Center about a stolen car caught on camera near 15th and Sheridan. Police say they found the stolen car within minutes at a gas station with Adair was putting gas in it. Adair told police she recently bought the car from a drug dealer.

"It is really common for us now. We are having that happen so frequently that it is becoming just regular business. When we got license plate readers, I was getting emails from officers about how awesome it was they were able to find someone on an alert,” said Captain Jacob Johnston with Tulsa Police, who supervises the center.

Police say the live cameras and license plate readers have helped put a major dent in stolen car cases with a 50% drop in the last two years.

"Once an alert happens, it shouldn't take us more than 30 seconds to vet, to make sure that it's still a wanted vehicle, to then broadcast it. Then it comes down to, are there officers close by, do we have a live camera that is nearby where it can capture where they are going and who is in the vehicle,” said Johnston.

Johnston says they use the center to help solve all sorts of crimes like burglaries, robberies, homicides, and even sexual assaults. Police arrested Yander Ramirez last week, accused of raping a 15-year-old in a park. Police say they were able to access the cameras in the city park and got video of Ramirez, his car and the victim.

"We are not going to replace officers and their ability to go out and work with the community, but we definitely can give them tools and resources that make them much more efficient and help them through the process faster,” said Johnston.

The center has also played a big role in keeping officers safer. The center has the ability to go live with an officer’s body camera, see what's happening, then relay that information to other responding officers.