New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly has unveiled an $11 million high-technology crime center designed to free detectives from much time-consuming research, the New York Times reports. A team of analysts will field inquiries from detectives around the clock. They will help speed up investigations using dozens of databases – including more than 5 million New York State criminal, parole, and probation records, and 33 billion public records.
The new Real Time Crime Center may have broader uses in the future, Kelly said; it could be involved in counter-terrorism efforts. The look of the place, a large sleek room lined with flat-screen televisions, suggests an interplanetary control center, says the Times. The cost was covered mostly by city funds, and included contributions from the federal government and the Police Foundation.
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/15/nyregion/15center.html?