5 ways law enforcement agencies can improve RTIC operations
KEY IDEAS:
- Law enforcement agencies cannot rely on technology alone to build effective real-time information centers.
- RTIC operations can be hindered by disconnected systems, siloed workflows, staffing constraints, and delayed communication.
- Agencies need unified procedures and integrated technology that create a common operating picture for RTIC personnel, officers, dispatch, and leadership.
- With connected systems and clear privacy and civil liberties safeguards, RTICs can improve efficiency, transparency, situational awareness, and officer and community safety.
Public safety funding in many parts of the country is increasingly being used for real-time operations support, including real time information centers (RTICs). RTICs enable law enforcement to better respond to incidents of all kinds, marshalling the proper resources to keep people safe and help officers act quickly and effectively.
RTICs are cross-disciplinary, involving multiple technologies and department personnel in a variety of roles. In order to effectively stand up and operate an RTIC, here are five things to consider.
💡 WHAT IS A REAL-TIME INFORMATION CENTER?
A real-time information center is a centralized public safety hub where personnel gather, analyze, and share real-time and historical information to support incident response, investigations, and officer safety. RTIC personnel use real-time inputs and historical information to increase situational awareness, aid investigations, and improve safety for officers and the communities they serve.
RTICs and similar real-time operations models are also called:
- Real-time crime centers (RTCC)
- Real-time awareness centers (RTAC)
- Real-time operations centers (RTOC)
Build a common operating picture for real-time incident response
Supporting the response to crimes in near real-time is a fundamental purpose of a real-time information center, but is delayed or hampered if RTIC personnel are spending time searching across multiple tools to find and synthesize information, such as:
- Video feeds
- Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems
- Gunshot detection notifications
- Records management system (RMS) data
That’s because RTIC response coordination is measured in seconds. If an RTIC’s goal is to ensure responding officers have all the pertinent information they need in five minutes or less, wasting two minutes flipping between different programs can be the difference between success and failure.
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For an RTIC to truly operate in real time, relevant data should be available through a shared common operating picture that responding officers, RTIC personnel, and law enforcement leadership can use at the same time. The sooner RTICs provide accurate data to responding officers, the better the response will be.
Beyond expediency, RTICs will always have one challenge to overcome: It’s highly unlikely there will always be sensors, like cameras, ALPRs, or gunshot detection systems, everywhere a crime occurs. But that doesn’t mean an RTIC can’t be helpful — there’s more to effective incident response than video feeds. Historical data on common crimes in an area, for example, can be a vital datapoint. But if an RTIC doesn’t have a true common operating picture, that context never reaches the officers who might need it most.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: A common operating picture gives RTIC personnel, officers, and command staff access to the same real-time and historical information, helping agencies coordinate faster, more informed incident response.
Integrate your RTIC into daily law enforcement operations
Police department leadership must carefully consider how an RTIC will integrate into a department’s daily operations to derive maximum value. An RTIC isn’t maximally effective when it’s siloed off from the rest of the department.
Consider an existing function like dispatch, something every single police department utilizes:
- They answer both non-emergency and emergency 911 calls, often speaking directly with civilians in moments of crisis.
- They simultaneously direct officers where to go based on priority of calls and several other factors.
- They monitor progress and ensure timely support.
- They provide field officers with information about the incident.
If dispatch operates discretely from a real-time information center, inefficiencies will result and incident response quality will suffer. RTIC personnel and dispatch must work together to coordinate the proper law enforcement response.
🔎 HOW CAN AN RTIC WORK WITH DISPATCH?
RTIC personnel work closely with dispatch by sharing real-time information, clarifying incident context, and coordinating updates before and during response. When dispatch and RTIC personnel operate from the same information, officers can receive faster, more complete support in the field.
Choose an RTIC staffing model that supports your operation
Staffing is another important consideration, especially for agencies that plan to operate an RTIC around the clock. Leadership should consider how they’ll ensure their RTIC is a 24/7 operation without negatively impacting staffing in other areas.
🔎 WHAT ARE COMMON RTIC STAFFING MODELS?
- Sworn officers selected for acumen, competency, and interest
- Civilian analysts hired specifically for RTIC operations
- A hybrid model with civilian analysts and sworn officers
The best RTIC staffing plan will vary from agency to agency, depending on the breadth of operations, current personnel needs, budget, types of crime within the agency’s jurisdiction, and a host of other factors. However, we have seen promising results from the hybrid model.
There are many jobs within a police department that require sworn personnel. Diverting them from those roles — patrol or investigations, for example — to an RTIC is a tradeoff many departments can’t afford to make. A real-time information center staffed with civilian analysts, when logistically and financially feasible, can help mitigate this challenge.
A combination of sworn officers working side-by-side with civilian RTIC analysts is an effective way to staff an RTIC. Both bring different but complementary skills, training and experiences that synergize to provide real-time support to officers in the field.
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Give officers better information before they arrive on scene
Many real-time information centers, in concert with dispatch, are rightly used to respond to emerging incidents, providing patrol officers information such as:
- What the incident is
- Where they need to go
- A potential suspect or vehicle description
- What’s occurred at the location previously
However, there is an opportunity to enrich that information, so patrol officers are more well-informed before they arrive at the scene of an incident. For example, RTIC personnel can connect vehicle descriptions with ALPR reads, or pair 911 calls reporting gunfire with automated gunshot detection alerts.
With more context before they arrive, officers can communicate more effectively with RTIC personnel and ask deeper, more nuanced questions that make the most of real-time information support.
🔎 HOW DO RTICS HELP OFFICERS BEFORE THEY ARRIVE ON SCENE?
RTICs help officers before they arrive by adding context to basic dispatch information. This may include:
- Prior calls at the location
- Relevant RMS data
- Video feeds
- Gunshot detection alerts
- Suspect and vehicle information
Protect privacy, transparency, and civil liberties in RTIC operations
As public agencies use more data, defending people’s privacy and civil liberties becomes increasingly complex and critical.RTICs, with the right protections in place, are powerful tools to fight crime and keep communities safe — and leaders that focus on creating a culture of compliance will protect people’s privacy, too. Adhering to privacy and data storage rules, regulations, and legislation are essential for RTIC success.
One foundational protection for RTICs is distinguishing between data streams that could identify people — such as video footage — and data streams that cannot identify people but may still indicate criminal activity, such as automated gunshot detection. Data sources that can be used to identify people may need even more robust safeguards to ensure they’re used appropriately.
Transparency also protects people’s privacy. Law enforcement agencies can build trust with citizen groups, city councils, and their communities by collaboratively establishing:
- What information an RTIC is using
- How it’s being used
- What access and audit procedures are in place
- How long data is retained
A culture of protection and compliance, with the technical measures and human controls like audits to reinforce that culture, enable departments to leverage their data to protect communities while making civil liberties a “north star” — a true win for the people the department is serving.
🔎 WHAT ARE PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS FOR RTICS?
RTIC privacy safeguards include CJIS-compliant systems, role-based access, audit logs, data retention policies, and clear approval processes for sensitive information. Data integration platforms can support these safeguards by helping agencies centralize information while preserving traceability into how data is accessed and used.
Create the right foundation for a successful RTIC
Real-time information centers can be a significant investment of resources,requiring time and intention to set up and maintain. But if done well, with the right safeguards in place and the emphasis on supporting operations in the field, they can be a powerful tool for good.
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