Issue link: http://lawandordermag.epubxp.com/i/74973
SPECIAL REPORT State Of-The-Art Operations Center The Real-Time Operations Center (RTOC) runs 24/7 using four teams. The RTOC teams are made up of Detectives, Constables and civilian analysts all led by an Inspector. on a system called iDispatcher. Calls are viewed in the Center on the RTOC Video Wall. The job of the RTOC Information Coordinators is to begin working on gath- ering information on any names or ad- dresses, and to feed this information to the RTOC Analyst and responding officers. Ultimately, the RTOC Analysts are responsible for maintaining a "bird's eye view" of the entire city, as well as the ever-changing dis- trict crime and offender manage- ment priorities and investigative targets. They are an "intelligence hub" in and of themselves, as they receive information from a multitude of sources, from the federal police media re- leases (RCMP), to updates from the Correc- tional Service of Canada, to external agency police bulletins. An RTOC position entitled Investigative Coordinator was developed to fulfill the function of supporting very junior front- Hardware and Software Behind the RTOC During the planning stage of the RTOC, the IT requirements were set out using a three-phased approach. In Phase One, the first need was the development of a "Video Wall", to provide the Centre with situational awareness. To meet this need, the RTOC purchased and mounted 24 NEC 46-inch commercial grade LCD panels, arranged into six "banks" of panels. These display im- ages via an Extron 36 port video switcher, which enables the RTOC to place any image from any PC on available panels. The RTOC is configured to have four different audio zones, which are managed through a Crown 660A amplifier. All audio and visual sources are centrally controlled by a Creston 15-inch Touch- Panel. Two of the six banks of video panels are devoted to video cam- era access – one displaying City of Calgary CCTV images and one displaying the CPS helicopter – HAWC – downlink video. The CCTV cameras were placed throughout Calgary's down- town core, in locations identified through analysis as crime "hot spots." These IndigoVision cameras have the ability to pan, tilt and zoom. Staff in the Centre can zoom into events such as protests and the Occupy Calgary movement, to better direct the deployment of patrol and crowd management resources. The HAWC downlink equipment was supplied by Vislink. The RTOC is able to view video transmitted from the helicopter for a range of approximately 46 miles. One bank of video panels is consistently devoted to a city map 40 LAW and ORDER I July 2012 displaying all CPS vehicle (excluding covert vehicles, which will be part of the next phase of IT support) Automated Vehicle Lo- cator (AVL) information. This allows the RTOC Commander to quickly see where his / her resources are, and to redeploy as needed. Two Microsoft Office products have become tools that are used all day, every day in the RTOC: MS One Note and MS Of- fice Communicator. Staff use One Note to 1) share information in real time; 2) work together to build offender work-ups, ensuring no efforts are duplicated, and 3) to manage their daily activities. Essentially, One Note acts as a team notebook, and has been quite effective at keeping track of the work that gets done in the Centre. Office Communicator is used as an instant messaging tool, to communicate in real time; both within the Centre and be- tween the RTOC and stakeholders throughout the Service. The RTOC website, which was built using another Microsoft product – Sharepoint – displays the team currently working in the Centre using Communicator, and allows customers to directly and instantly message a member of the RTOC. This facilitates communication between the RTOC and its stakeholders. Analysts working in the RTOC use several programs to fa- cilitate the development of real-time analytical products. Spe- cifically, ESRI's ArcGIS v.9.2 and i2 Analyst's Notebook v. 8 are utilized by analysts, as well as MS Excel, which is often used to keep track of and analyze (using Pivot Tables) incidents deemed to be part of a crime pattern. line in their response to incidents requiring further investigation. With all that recruits must absorb during their 23-week training to become police officers, the CPS recog- nizes how unreasonable it is to put these constables on the street and expect them to not only be able to respond to calls in a timely manner, but to recall all of their legal and investigative training with no support. The RTOC provides a "one-stop shop" for these officers at all hours of the day and night – a place they can call to ask questions about the call they are responding to. "How much of a perimeter should I establish around a crime scene?" – "What was that legislation