If you have criminal activity on your property, you want the police to be there as soon as possible. Faster police response time can help increase the probability that an arrest will be made, which goes a long way in reducing crime altogether. Frisco, Texas is working to do just that. The city recently received a grant of $330,000 from the North Texas Council of Governments which they used to implement a technology called “Closest To.” This is a joint project between Frisco Police, Fire, IT, and Engineering Services departments.
How Does This Software Improve Police Response Time?
“Closest To” utilizes real-time data to help emergency personnel, including police, firefighters, and paramedics, respond more quickly to an incident. Emergency dispatch utilizes this new technology to automatically determine the closest resources available for high priority calls. These can include aggravated assault, stabbings and gunshots.
According to the Deputy Chief of Operations for the Frisco Police Department, the real-time data has helped decrease response times for high-priority incidents by as much as one minute.
This technology has helped Frisco, but other variables can impact police response time.
Police Chief Chris Vinson represents the Highland Park Police Department, an affluent community south of Frisco. Chief Vinson was part of a panel that spoke about the importance of remote video surveillance. As part of his discussion, he talked about how to define alarms and their priorities.
He used the following hypothetical example:
Imagine if the police department had a stack of reported incidents. If they received a call that didn’t fit into their definition of a ‘high priority’ call, it would get pushed to the bottom of the stack. Higher-response incidents, like crimes in progress, get pushed to the top of the stack.
How are activities verified as crimes in progress? Trained live video surveillance operators who are watching cameras in real time can make that determination and call police.
Contact us to learn more about our how live video monitoring solutions can help you.
