KILLEEN, Texas — The Killeen Police department is working towards making the city safer, and they say a new monitoring system is the way to go.
Assistant Chief of Police Alex Gearhart is on board with the “Real Time Crime Center.”
“The suspects leaving the scene in a black pickup, so that person can immediately go to those camera feeds and start looking for a black pickup,” Gearhart said.
“It’s all about safety and it’s all about trying to work smarter with it to get that intelligence out to the officers in the field as quickly as we can."
Chief of Police Pedro Lopez introduced the software at a Thursday night Killeen town hall meeting. At that meeting some residents voiced concerns about privacy. Gearheart said the public has to give permission for the police to view the video.
“They may only want to share them during business hours. And they may only want to share outside their business but not the inside of their business, and that’s all on their prerogative,” he said.
The camera’s won’t have facial recognition—but they will be able to pick up objects, colors and license plates. City council member at large Jose Segarra visited a crime center in Fort Worth.
“If you have a drive by shooting, and you know somebody allows us to monitor from their house, they’re able to capture that license plate, that’s very important, I think that’s huge.”
The software is expected to cost between $200,000 to $400,000, and an additional $125,000 for a yearly updated subscription.
“I thought it would cost in the millions. But if this is something we can do for less than $500,000 I’m all for it,” Segarra said.
Killeen PD told 25 News they’re looking at grants to help fund the project. If residents want to learn more or address concerns, meeting will be held November 9 and November 16. More information can be found at the City of Killeen's website.
