The San Francisco Police Department on Wednesday unveiled its new Real-Time Investigation Center, where staff can use technology like drones and license plate readers as tools to assist officers.
“We are here today to highlight one of the most important advancements in how our city fights crime and keeps people safe — a major upgrade to the Real-Time Investigation Center,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie in a speech at the center.
The Real-Time Investigation Center, or RTIC, is located at 315 Montgomery St. in the city’s Financial District. Staff sit at desks surrounded by brand-new computer screens, operating drones and monitoring automated license plate readers to help police officers track suspects in real time.
The new RTIC is fully operational after more than a year of planning and work. The previous RTIC was located in the Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant St., where the power would go out and cellphone service was slow, said Interim Police Chief Paul Yep.
“Everything at the Hall of Justice was very antiquated, from infrastructure to equipment and software,” said Cmdr. Thomas Maguire. “Everything here is brand new — all the computers, gaming chairs, the video wall — everything’s upgraded and state of the art.”
Eyes in the sky
At one of the desks, a staff member launched a drone to follow a vehicle on The Embarcadero. Yep and several other officers watched the drone’s live video feed as the operator maneuvered the drone from his desk.
Since starting last year, the RTIC has helped assist in more than 800 arrests of crime suspects, according to police.
SFPD is 500 officers short of 2,000 officers, the minimum number of officers recommended in the department’s staffing analysis. In spite of the staffing shortage, the new surveillance technology being used has been a “game changer” in tackling crime, Lurie said.
“We know that our strategic arrests from our officers and assistance from the RTIC are having a major, major impact on crime,” Yep said. “The results we’ve achieved here have been stunning.”
Making an impact on crime
So far this year, crime is down by about 25% compared to last year, according to SFPD crime data. The new technology is helping deter crime, officers said.
“The word is out among these organized criminal gangs that if you commit a crime in San Francisco, you get caught,” said Chris Larsen, a billionaire who invested in RTIC’s upgraded facility.
A few weeks ago in the city’s Excelsior neighborhood, a man allegedly threatened a worker in a small business, stole cash and a phone and then sped away. RTIC’s surveillance technology helped follow the suspect from above instead of officers having to launch a vehicle pursuit, Lurie said.
“In the past, tracking that suspect was likely risky,” he said. “It often meant a dangerous pursuit, or officers losing the trail simply because the tools weren’t there. Our technology did not meet the needs. That has changed.”
Sheriff Paul Miyamoto said that the expansion of law enforcement technology in the Police Department has also helped in assisting the Sheriff’s Office and boosting collaboration between the two agencies.
“The people want to be safe,” Miyamoto said. “We are here to provide that safety and our ability to do it from above is something that is key to making sure that we support our staff members on the ground.”