Earlier this month, CBS News in Los Angeles (LA) did a piece on the LA Police Department's Real-Time Analysis Critical Response Center (RACR). Touted as a model for police departments across the nation, the facility features an impressive range of capabilities. RACR operates as part of the LA EOC that was opened in August of 2009. You can learn more about this facility by:
- Reading a background story provided by CBS News Los Angeles: click here
- Taking a tour of RACR by way of an excellent You Tube Video: click here
- Reading the city's information piece on the EOC: click here
Comment: On May 1, 2007, the LAPD experienced one of its worst days when a protest march terminating in MacArthur Park started becoming disorganized and chaotic. With neither the LAPD command or crowd control elements having any meaningful form of real-time situational awareness, the situation then quickly spiraled completely out of control. When the dust eventually settled on that day, the city found itself paying out over $13.0 million to settle claims for excessive use of force by the deployed officers. Consequently, it is little wonder why LA is now home to this state of the art facility. It's the reality of that old saying, "You can pay me now, or pay me a whole bunch more later....." From the looks of the information available about RACR, it's pretty apparent LA is serious about using the technology that's available now, to keep from paying big bills later.
No comments:
Post a Comment