DETROIT - We’ve already seen the inside of Detroit’s real-time crime monitoring facility, but how does it all work to keep people safe?
You’ve probably heard of The Green Light Projectbut technology the Detroit Police Department has within reach to solve the crime in the city goes much further than that. Their real-time crime tracking facility has amazing technology that is used to fight crime.
Shortly after 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 3, 2021, the killing was caught on camera by Detroit’s Green Light Project.
“We were able to track the suspect before the shooting, up to an hour before we walked the streets,” said Stamatia Tsakos, executive director of DPD’s crime detection division. “About 45 minutes, 50 minutes before the shooting we were able to see him walk into the business without a mask and that led to us being able to give our community a really clear picture of the suspect.”
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The suspect was identified after a tip from viewers. Now he is charged with murder. Analysts at the Detroit Police Department’s Real-Time Crime Monitoring Center believe the technology they have access to helps them fight crime faster.
“We’ve seen several non-fatal shootings, several murders, we’ve seen property crimes, we’ve seen individual victims of domestic violence in these locations.” So an immediate approach is critical,” Tsakos said.
The Criminal Intelligence Unit operates 24 hours a day. The hub houses data from Project Green Light cameras at 802 businesses in Detroit. Every business has at least four cameras. A total of 4,338 cameras monitor Detroit. The gas station at Grand River and Wyoming avenues used to be a hotbed of crime.
“I’d be sitting in my office, people would be fighting, shooting, stabbing each other,” said community activist Reverend Horace Sheffield.
Reverend Sheffield helped fund the cameras at this gas station, which is now a partner of the Green Light project.
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“It changed this whole neighborhood,” Sheffield said. “You can talk to anyone in the neighborhood coalition and they’ll tell you the only thing that changed this neighborhood was the green light on the corner.”
And the fact that DPD is always watching. But inside the room, the technology is more than visual. While assets monitored there include license plate readers, analysts can also detect gunshots in specific areas of Detroit.
“We have sensors placed all over these areas,” Tsakos said. “When a gun is fired somewhere in that area, those sensors triangulate the location of that shot.” It goes to the shooting review center where they determine if it was a shooting or not, and then we get that notification within 60 seconds of that gun being fired.
“Hopefully, we’re reducing violent crime in the city,” said Michael McGuinness, DPD Major Crimes Commander.
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Commander McGinnis understands how critical this technology is. It helped put a suspect behind bars for robbing and killing a man at Andy’s Market last January.
“What they did was they pulled the footage and found him on video at the previous establishment prior to the masked robbery,” he said.
“Our goal is really to create that for officer safety and to empower our community to know that we have these resources available,” Tsakos said.
DPD is analyzing the data to determine where more cameras are needed. Businesses can choose to apply and be part of the Green Light project. There are two gunshot detectors, one each on the east and west sides of Detroit near Eighth and Ninth stations. Monitors on large screens show what is happening in real time. Analysts can communicate with officers to assist as needed.
“The real strength of our program is when we can use these tools in combination,” Tsakos said.
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In the first three months of this year, DPD made slightly more than 16,000 visits to Green Light project partners.
The cost to become a Green Light project partner ranges from $4,000 to $6,000 for cameras. There is also a small monthly fee plus an installation fee.
For more information about the program, you can click here.
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