Earlier this month, the Columbia County Board of Commissioners approved a bid at at a commission meeting that will bring a real time crime center to Columbia County.
Utilicom Supply Associates, LLC., was the only bidder with a base bid in the amount of $569,022.45. According to the recommendation sheet, the project includes the purchase and installation of equipment for the real time Crime Center located within the 911 Call center.
These real time crime centers will allow law enforcement agencies and emergency first responders to respond quicker and more efficiently in emergency situations.
“Almost every intersection in Columbia County has some type of traffic camera. This crime center would integrate those cameras immediately and integrate all of the emergency units,” said Columbia County Sheriff Clay Whittle. “The dispatchers can see live what’s going on. They are looking at the map itself that is part of this crime center and there identifying which deputy is the closest. They will be able to pull the closest unit to see that response time.”
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This project will be similar to the command centers built for the Cobb County Police Department, the City of Birmingham Police Department, Birmingham, Ala., and the Tuscaloosa Cyber Intelligence Center., Tuscaloosa, Ala. Whittle says they were able to visit and talk to some of the officials where these crime centers are located and have heard good things about them.
“The number one term that came up to everyone we talked to and everybody we visited was that this is a gamechanger,” Whittle said.
The crime center will help multiple county agencies.
“That’s the reason this is known for being a gamechanger because the situational awareness it gives all the emergency responders, not just the sheriff’s office, but all the first responders,” he said.
This new technology could also be a recruitment tool for more police officers and prevent mistakes due to the unlimited amount of information.
“You may entice some younger people because of the technological advances,” Whittle said. “You won’t be going in as blind; you will have more information available to you almost instantaneously than what you currently have.”
The project for the new real time crime center is expected to be completed at the end of this year.
Chris Rickerson is a staff reporter covering Columbia County government and general assignment topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at chris@theaugustapress.com.
