Collaborative Response Enables
a Proactive Crime
Prevention Strategy
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See how our municipal camera systems can help you.
Organization Type
Major Metro Area
Target
Stemming Violent Crime
Budget
$40 Million
Results
Clearance Rates Soared
Saved 3000+ Man Hours
Taking Advantage of an Opportunity
In the summer of 2016, the NBA decided it needed to move the 2017 All-Star Game out of its planned venue in Charlotte, N.C. New Orleans won the right to host the game and with it a week of events celebrating the league and its fans.
City leaders needed a way to ensure the historic French Quarter would be a safe venue for so many fans. And they only had a few months to do it.
The city called in Active Solutions. In short order, the Active Solutions team planned and installed a network of crime cameras to cover all the critical areas of the Quarter. The team stood up an video operations center to actively manage the feeds and investigate trouble spots.
The results? The 2017 NBA All-Star Game went off without a hitch, as did the week of festivities leading up to it. The French Quarter went on to see decreases in violent crime and increases in clearance rates in the next few years.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell
“We have seen the center, in real time, prevent crimes from happening. We’ve seen – in real time – how it’s allowed us to solve and clear cases. This is a holistic approach to improving the overall quality of life in the City of New Orleans … and that will grow. We’ve only scratched the surface.”
Nick Gernon, Commander, NOPD’s 8th District
“At the end of 2017, our clearance rate for non-fatal shootings here in the 8th district was 17%. … It is now 89%. It is because of two things … hard work on the part of detectives and great video from the Real Time Crime Center.”
Challenge – Update City’s Camera System to Best-in-Class
In light of the success of the initial deployment of cameras for the NBA all-star game, the city realized the benefits of installing new cameras to help manage a modern city that hosts thousands of events and millions of tourists a year. They chose Active Solutions to develop a new approach and employ new technologies to public safety.
If New Orleans was going to stand up to the challenges of 21st century crime, it needed a modern system of real-time analytics that allowed multiple departments to coordinate unified response to threats.
Solution
Active Solutions designed and deployed the Real Time Crime Center, a state of the art facility merging public and private videos, data from sensors, and voice lines from throughout the city with a state-of-the-art analytics suite that allows technicians to diagnose situations as they unfold and deploy forces where they are needed most in an emergency.
Once fully deployed, the Real Time Crime Center’s network counted 325 cameras and 100 automatic license plate readers across the city, feeding authorities live looks at high-crime areas and collecting usable data for the city nonstop.
Results
In the first year, New Orleans estimated it saved over 3,000 man-hours for investigators. The next year, they estimated the savings doubled.
When 911 dispatches arrive in the Real Time Crime Center, technicians can track activity in the vicinity and share situational awareness with emergency responders in addition to police, providing valuable investigative details that reduces time-on-scene.
Responding officers’ investigative processes are more efficient, and the police department is able to more easily close cases on a daily basis.
Video evidence leads to quicker convictions and plea bargains, saving the justice system time and money in court and jailing costs. Case clearance rates soared in districts with cameras.
Ross Bourgeois, NOLA Director of Public Safety Support Services
“The New Orleans Real Time Crime Center has saved over 31,000 man-hours of investigative work.” (July ’22)
“When seconds count and moments matter you cannot put enough value on saving time in an investigation.”
“The city of New Orleans now has 525 city owned cameras and 650 privately owned cameras feeding into the Real Time Crime Center.”
“We are seeing a steady increase in utilization by our partners…we saved over 9,000 public safety manpower hours in 2021 and over 24,000 man-hours to date.” (Nov. ’21)
We Secure Your Community
If you are ready for an exploratory meeting to see how we can serve your community, please email us at info@ActiveSolutions.com.
We would love to hear about the problems you need to solve in your city and help you map out a winning strategy that will deliver measurable results.