(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela A. Smith unveiled MPD’s Real-Time Crime Center and launched CameraConnect DC. CameraConnect DC is a new initiative that will allow residents and businesses to more effectively and efficiently share security camera footage with the Real-Time Crime Center to support MPD with investigating crimes and closing cases.
“The policies and strategies we’ve put in place to rebalance our public safety ecosystem are helping us drive down crime, and the Real-Time Crime Center is part of those efforts,” said Mayor Bowser. “We have been focused, for many years now, on how we expand our network of cameras, because we know that video plays a key role in investigating cases and successfully prosecuting criminals. Now, we are calling on residents and businesses to partner with us through CameraConnect DC to help us build a safer, stronger DC.”
The state-of-the-art Real-Time Crime Center has been staffed by MPD since mid-February and has already played a role in assisting patrol officers on the scene of critical incidents. The Real-Time Crime Center will collect and analyze data from various sources, such as CCTV cameras and emergency calls, to enhance situational awareness, facilitate quick decision-making, and improve the overall efficiency of crime prevention and response efforts. The Real-Time Crime Center will play a crucial role in identifying patterns, coordinating resources, providing timely information to officers on the ground, and contributing to a more proactive and effective approach to policing.
Through CameraConnect DC, residents with doorbell or CCTV cameras can sign up to register their cameras with MPD. Once registered, if a crime occurs near that camera, MPD’s Real-Time Crime Center will send an alert requesting any relevant footage that could help MPD’s investigators. Businesses, apartment complexes, and commercial facilities have the option to fully integrate their footage with MPD’s Real-Time Crime, providing MPD instant access to camera footage should a threat or incident occur nearby.
“Video continues to play a key role in not just allowing us to identify a suspect, but also ensuring the criminal justice ecosystem holds that suspect accountable,” said Chief Smith. “Since Mayor Bowser nominated me to lead the men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department, I’ve prioritized getting out into the community and meeting people in the neighborhoods and businesses in the city and I’m often asked, ‘How can I help?’ Today, we have a new way for you to help: by providing our Real-Time Crime Center with video.”
Anyone interested in joining CameraConnect DC is asked to visit mpdc.dc.gov/cameraconnectdc to learn more about how they can be a part of making DC safer.
The Real-Time Crime Center is part of the Mayor’s significant investments in public safety, reflected in her Fiscal Year 2025 budget. The Mayor’s FY25 budget fully funds MPD’s requested hiring level to achieve a net gain in police officers for the first time in five years. The budget also includes:
- $8.7 million to fund 40 new Community Safety Officers – hiring these Community Safety Officers and other civilians will help free up about 50 police officers for critical crime-fighting tasks.
- $3.4 million to procure and maintain crime-fighting technology.
- $13 million to increase MPD’s crime-fighting capabilities by nearly tripling the department’s CCTV camera footprint and replacing license plate readers. Those readers are a powerful tool for identifying vehicles involved in crimes, tracking down stolen vehicles, and locating suspects.
The budget also includes $4.6 million to fund immediate provisions of Secure DC, including:
- $2.3 million to expand Safe Commercial Corridors and the Private Security Camera System Incentive Program.
- $1.8 million to support the implementation of Secure DC changes to pre-trial detention.
- $322,000 to increase private security camera incentives for businesses.
- $160,000 to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to stand up a new diversion task force.
Partners that will support the Real-Time Crime Center include: Amtrak Police, Arlington County Police, DC Housing Authority Police, Fairfax County Police, Maryland State Police, Metro Transit Police, Montgomery County Police, Prince George’s County Police, the United States Capitol Police, the United States Park Police, the United States Secret Service Uniform Division, Virginia State Police, the FBI, the ATF, the United States Marshals Service, and the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.
Mayor Bowser launched the Private Security Camera System Incentive Program in 2016. Since its launch, the program has allowed the District to deploy nearly 28,000 private security cameras throughout the city. The Private Security Camera Incentive Program, administered by the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants, helps residents, businesses, non-profits and religious buy security camera systems and then install them on their property and register them with MPD.
To learn more about joining MPD, please visit joinmpd.dc.gov.
Mayor Bowser X: @MayorBowser
Mayor Bowser Instagram: @Mayor_Bowser
Mayor Bowser Facebook: facebook.com/MayorMurielBowser
Mayor Bowser YouTube: https://www.bit.ly/eomvideos