In 2005, the New York City Police Department took an early step toward the future of law enforcement technology with its real-time crime center (RTCC). It came at a cost of $11 million to build and was funded in part by nonprofit grants.
Eight years later, South Philadelphia followed the NYPD’s lead and constructed its own RTCC for $20 million. In 2013, it was projected the facility would cost approximately $2 million per year to maintain and operate.
As part of a larger citywide public safety plan, New Orleans PD implemented an RTCC in 2017. The overarching initiative totaled $40 million, with the RTCC build accounting for $5 million of that total.
For many small and midsize agencies, these figures are staggering. While there’s often a desire to house all technology under one roof to enable better coordinated responses during emergencies, the reality is that most departments do not have the budget, staffing levels or physical location to build and operate that level of infrastructure.
Yet without an RTCC, it’s challenging to coordinate data across police, fire and emergency management during any number of scenarios, from a missing child or suspect on the run to the aftermath of a natural disaster. Departments without an RTCC are often working across disconnected tools, attempting to piece together different tech platforms to enable seamless communication and still struggling to coordinate in real time.
Real-time coordination from anywhere
Public safety has become increasingly mobile, as many tasks that once required people to be tied to a desk can now be completed in the field. The function of a real-time crime center is no exception.
Instead of relying on a physical location where all people and tools are in the same room, agencies can coordinate when and where they’re needed most – a flexible approach that makes real-time operations accessible for any department, regardless of size or budget.
Today, most departments operate in a fragmented environment. CAD lives in one system. Camera feeds sit in another. Automated license plate recognition data requires a separate login. Drone video is shared through yet another interface. Gunshot acoustic detection alerts arrive independently. Command staff and field units are forced to swivel between screens, toggle between applications and manually relay updates over radio or phone.
Cross-agency collaboration often relies on email chains, personal cell phones, text messages or temporary group chats that were never designed for secure public safety operations. Mutual aid partners frequently lack direct access to the same systems, creating delays and forcing information to be summarized rather than shared in real time. Sensitive details can end up moving across unsecured channels simply because there is no unified alternative.
The challenge is not technology scarcity. It is technology sprawl. Disconnected tools create operational friction, slow decision-making and make it harder for agencies to operate as one coordinated team when seconds matter most.
Now, imagine if agencies could rely on a single platform that unified data from CAD, automatic vehicle location (AVL), drones, gunshot acoustic detection, ALPR, fixed cameras and more, while enabling secure coordination across tablets, mobile devices and laptops.
This level of real-time operation would result in more clarity, safety and efficiency among police, fire and emergency management, helping lead to better initial responses and faster incident closures. Agencies using LeoSight, a unified command platform, regularly experience these benefits.
“We try to keep everything as simple as possible,” said Jay Draisin, chief product officer at LeoSight. “We have really tried to concentrate on the things that are going to help day-to-day operations.”
Draisin’s 28 years of law enforcement experience helped shape LeoSight, ensuring the platform includes all the tools and features first responders need without added bells and whistles that ultimately won’t get used. Retiring from the Orlando Police Department with the rank of Captain, Draisin was responsible for building, staffing and training at the city’s RTCC and saw firsthand how important it is for incident command to be intuitive.
“There’s only one way to do everything on our platform,” he explained. “There are platforms out there where you can get to the same place multiple ways. We don’t like that because it’s very hard to be consistent in your training if you can do things multiple ways. With LeoSight, I can train police, fire and emergency management the same. It’s not based on where you work – the functionality is the same across every user.”
One platform – multiple features
LeoSight provides the same level of unified command as a brick-and-mortar RTCC while integrating additional features that help streamline emergency response. Some situations are straightforward, explains Draisin, while others require major coordination across agencies.
“For example, I can look at the historical path of anything that has GPS linked to it,” he said. “If I need to show a neighborhood watch when they say, ‘We just don’t see the police drive around our neighborhood,’ I can pull it up and show where they have. This also helps with search and rescue operations. I can show the areas we’ve already searched for a missing person.”
What does LeoSight look like in action? Consider a scenario where a child has gone missing. The platform’s map feature, LeoCommand, can display CAD information related to the call, pinpoint the last known location of the child, open multiple camera feeds closest to that location and help direct available units to a designated search area using the tool’s boundary guidance feature.
By computing data based on the type of incident, the speed and distance the person has likely traveled thus far and the area’s terrain, the boundary guidance algorithm can highlight where first responders should begin their search. If a missing person has Alzheimer’s, it will prioritize surface streets rather than major highways, as the individual is likely wandering the area. A suspect on the run, however, will be looking for places to hide, causing the algorithm to include waterways and other possible areas for concealment.
Hazmat scenes also benefit from enhanced LeoCommand tools. First responders can run a search based on the truck tanker placard and the platform will show the hot zone for the spilled chemical. Live wind data tells those at the scene where to set up and what nearby areas may need to be evacuated.
No matter the situation, LeoCommand is designed for ease of use and seamless data integration.
“We’re trying to get agencies aligned, enhance their communication and get everything in one place,” said Draisin. “All of this can be done at the trunk of a car, the tailgate of a pickup truck or on a laptop computer.”
Information sharing made simple
Beyond its map-based features, LeoSight includes another tool to further aid in unified response – LeoLink. Formatted with various communication channels, it acts as a centralized hub for information exchange. A missing person’s photo can be shared with a neighboring agency or an image of a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run accident can be sent to select patrol units in the area, for example.
Individuals using a different map-based solution can still access data shared through LeoLink as invitations are sent via email and access is revoked after the event. Civilians can join by invitation as well – consider an instance of a missing child at a sporting event. A photo of the child can be sent to concession stand workers to further help recovery efforts.
LeoLink adds another layer of real-time coordination beyond mapping tools alone, ensuring all first responders are operating with the same up-to-date information. Both LeoLink and LeoCommand are SOC 2 aligned and designed to support CJIS compliance and operate in AWS GovCloud.
After an event, officers can use an additional tool within the LeoSight platform, LeoLoop, to turn after-action items into assigned actions with clear ownership, deadlines and status. Leaders can see what’s open, what’s blocked and what’s done, creating a shared record of follow-through that supports reviews and continuous improvement. Eliminating the need for paper forms, LeoLoop provides a secure, efficient way to send and process requests without requiring phone calls or emails to stay informed.
Together, the LeoSight platform supports the full “See, Talk, Act” workflow. LeoCommand helps agencies see what’s happening with live operational data in one place. LeoLink lets teams talk securely, in real time, without relying on unsecured channels for sensitive details. And LeoLoop helps agencies act by assigning follow-ups, tracking progress and closing the loop so the right next steps actually happen.
Unified command for all agencies
While real-time crime centers might make sense for some of the largest metropolitan departments in the country, most police, fire and emergency management agencies just can’t afford to build and staff such an endeavor. That doesn’t mean, however, they should be excluded from executing real-time operations and using traditional unified command strategies.
No incident is too large or small for departments to take advantage of all LeoSight has to offer. Whether you’re dealing with a mass casualty incident, the ongoing aftermath following a hurricane or a single-time missing person scenario, LeoSight provides ways for all involved agencies to respond in a streamlined manner.
“We want everyone on the same map,” said Draisin. “We want everyone using the same communication platform – it’s one incident, one response.”
Visit LeoSight for more information.
