UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — A new crime-fighting technique is proving to be such a success in the District – a neighboring county is following suit. D.C.’s Real Time Crime Center has been operating for two months. MPD says it has already led to quick arrests as officers monitor cameras in real time. Now, Prince George’s County Police are planning to open their own center.
Pennsylvania and Southern Avenues in Southeast is just one of the borders between the District and Prince George’s County. In fact, just last week neighbors along this line told WUSA9 they felt like crime in the area sometimes fell through the cracks. Now, they may benefit the most from real-time crime centers in both police departments.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then DC Police should be thanking their colleagues in Prince George’s.
“That realization into a Real Time Crime Center is long overdue but we know will have a giant payoff,” Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz.
Chief Aziz presented the FY2025 budget and priorities to the County Council Monday and testified that the department plans to open its own real-time crime center by the end of summer using the same technology that allows DC Police to monitor hundreds of city cameras in real-time.
In fact, the county has already seen how real-time monitoring makes a difference in crime fighting. Deputy Chief Katina Gomez is the head of the Bureau of Homeland Security and will lead the new center. She told Councilmembers police have already connected with cameras at several county businesses including the Inner Harbor where officers were able to make a quick arrest after a recent robbery.
“We were able to, I think it was a dog, recover the woman’s dog because the guy hit her with a brick,” Gomez testified.
While it is still unclear if PGPD will integrate their cameras into D.C.’s system, the goal in the District ‘s RTCC is to get all 11 regional partners working together.
At the center’s ribbon cutting earlier this month MPD Chief Pamela Smith said, “There are no jurisdictional boundaries when a suspect leaves one area and goes to the next and collectively as a law enforcement cohort we thought it would be really nice if we can all come together in this space.”
“We will offer one person at a minimum to staff their center and they have agreed once we get ours going, they will return that favor to us,” said Chief Aziz.
After hearing the latest news out of PGPD, a spokesperson from the DC Police sent WUSA9 this statement:
“MPD works closely with our partners at the Prince George’s County Police Department every day. We look forward to their continued support of our Real Time Crime Center and will closely support the crime center they launch soon.”
PGPD’s crime center will be in Upper Marlboro, and they plan to break ground next month. The cost is still unclear.