By Reed Ebarb
President
Caddo-Shreveport Crime Stoppers
You’ve probably heard by now of the new Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) that is being assembled and launched in Shreveport. The center will essentially be a central place where trained analysts can watch live-feed footage of hundreds of cameras across Shreveport and use that to assist law enforcement agencies and first responders. In addition, the RTCC will have a registration for those that have cameras around their house or business but don’t want to share access. This is where the RTCC’s abilities really begin to be a game changer.
When a crime occurs – say, for example, a burglary -- detectives and patrol officers must eat up valuable time and resources driving the area around the crime looking for cameras that might have captured footage of the event or suspects. With the RTCC’s registration option, instead the RTCC can now simply look at a map and send an email to all camera registrants around the crime and request they look at their camera footage for potential evidence. This will result in better evidence, more closed cases and fewer resources spent solving crimes.
For Caddo Shreveport Crime Stoppers, this is a huge change for us. Over the last few years, we have boasted a more than 90% solve rate for any footage of crimes in progress or suspects. With a large uptick in the amount of camera footage we will inevitably receive from this, it will create a domino effect of more footage solving more crimes and fewer criminals on the streets of Shreveport.
This is why it’s critical that citizens register their cameras, even if just a Ring doorbell camera, with the RTCC. Now, I want to be clear. By registering your camera, you don’t give the city access to it. You’re simply saying to the city, “Hey, I have a camera at my house, and if a crime happens around me, you can contact me, and I’ll review my footage.”
Businesses, homeowners associations, apartment complexes and others do have the option of having their cameras live-feed to the RTCC, but that requires a box to be installed at minimal cost. With all this said, I implore you to please register your cameras by visiting https://cityofshreveport.fususregistry.com/
Reed Ebarb is the president of Caddo-Shreveport Crime Stoppers.