By Police1 Staff
BOSTON — For three days in mid-October thousands of police leaders gathered at the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police conference to learn from subject matter experts, network with colleagues from around the world and research thousands of product solutions on display. Here we highlight Motorola Solutions’ end-to-end ecosystem empowering the integration of real-time 9-1-1 intelligence into police operations.
Glendale PD leads the way with cutting-edge RTCC integration
Motorola Solutions is transforming how law enforcement agencies respond to emergencies by integrating real-time 9-1-1 intelligence into their operations. The company’s technology pushes 9-1-1 call data — including real-time transcripts and translations, AI-generated evolving call summaries and videos or images from community members — into real-time crime centers (RTCCs), allowing police to act more quickly and decisively.
In Arizona, the Glendale Police Department’s (Glendale PD) RTCC was alerted to a shooting by following a 9-1-1 call’s real-time transcript. RTCC analysts immediately pulled up the security cameras at the intersection and saw the homicide suspect fleeing in the victim’s vehicle. The officer was able to react before a computer-aided dispatch (CAD) incident was entered and apprehended the suspect after a pursuit.
“Feeding VESTA call data into our RTCC gives our officers a jump-start on crimes when seconds really matter,” said Glendale PD Chief Chris Briggs. “From the most common call to large-scale events, we are increasingly relying on Motorola Solutions’ ecosystem of technologies to connect our RTCC with residents and business owners who offer critical, timely incident context.”
“Crime doesn’t neatly happen within one jurisdiction,” added Briggs, whose department is also exploring regionalization of its RTCC to surface intelligence on crime across city lines. “The technologies and intelligence that feed into our RTCC have increased our effectiveness in responding to crime within our city while enhancing real-time collaboration with our regional partners.”
Enhancing situational awareness and decision-making
At IACP 2024, Police1 spoke with Col. James M. Wolfinbarger, vice president and director of real-time solutions at Motorola Solutions and retired chief of the Colorado State Patrol, about how Motorola Solutions’ technologies enhance situational awareness and decision-making for law enforcement agencies.
Mapping the moment
Wolfinbarger highlighted how Motorola Solutions’ platform integrates real-time mapping of cameras, police resources and 9-1-1 calls for service, giving officers instant visibility of critical data. “Your mapping layers show where all the resources are and where calls for service are around the city. For example, if there’s a robbery in progress, the system highlights and centers it on the map and plays an audible tone while displaying relevant video feeds. This provides contextual relevance immediately.”
This automation reduces the need for officers to manually search for information, allowing them to focus on actionable intelligence.
Improving decision-making with video analysis
Wolfinbarger shared a compelling example of how video feeds from RTCCs save lives and optimize responses. During a rollover vehicle accident call, video analysis revealed that no one was actually ejected, but rather the occupants exited the vehicle after the collision and appeared to not be injured. This information eliminated the need for an urgent multi-agency response. “By using video feeds, we can prioritize responses more accurately. For incidents like rollovers, we can confirm the severity of the collision and adjust the response, improving safety for both officers and the public.”
This real-time verification is a game-changer, reducing unnecessary risk and resource allocation.
Capturing critical evidence
Wolfinbarger discussed how technology enhances investigative capabilities by capturing and analyzing data such as driving behavior or license plates. In one case, RTCC tools were pivotal in identifying an attempted kidnapping suspect through video overlays and GPS data from an ankle monitor. “Investigators used license plate recognition to identify the vehicle, then matched GPS data from an ankle bracelet to confirm the suspect’s movements. The case was closed within a day thanks to this integration of technology.”
This rapid closure prevented further harm and demonstrated the power of Motorola Solutions’ ecosystem in critical cases.
Human-centric AI
Wolfinbarger emphasized the role of AI in accelerating analysis while keeping a human in the loop. “AI shouldn’t independently make decisions. It surfaces information, automates the mundane and accelerates analysis, but it always relies on humans to make the final call.”
Examples such as detecting unusual motion — like people running from a store during a robbery — highlight how AI tools alert operators to anomalies without replacing human judgment.
Building community trust
Addressing concerns about surveillance technologies, Wolfinbarger stressed the importance of transparency and community engagement. “It’s essential to shine a bright light on the technology and invite the community to understand what it is and isn’t. Success stories, like recovering a child by using license plate recognition to identify a vehicle matching an Amber Alert, help build trust and demonstrate the value of these systems.”
Motorola Solutions’ platforms also feature built-in audit tools to ensure accountability and safeguard privacy.
A vision for safer communities
Motorola Solutions’ innovations are transforming how law enforcement agencies respond to emergencies. By connecting public safety professionals with actionable intelligence, the company empowers officers to make faster, better-informed decisions.
Wolfinbarger summarized the company’s vision: “We aim to unleash the power of technology under the creativity of public safety professionals, enabling them to solve for safer in ways no engineer could have imagined.”
A recap of Motorola Solutions’ technologies featured at IACP 2024
At the IACP conference in Boston, Motorola Solutions demonstrated the tools behind this enhanced response capability, including:
● CommandCentral Aware: CommandCentral Aware unifies real-time data and video streams into a secure common operational view, automates analysis to surface critical insights and enables instant communication of intelligence to responders in the field. CommandCentral Aware is the platform that supports RTCC’s operations with a common operating picture.
● Smart Transcription: A cloud-based service that uses AI to take the voice audio from a 9-1-1, non-emergency or administrative call and transcribe it into a searchable text transcript. With Smart Transcription, PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points) can verify caller information, monitor 9-1-1 calls in real-time and preserve call transcripts in long term storage, after the call ends, for post call analysis.
● VESTA NXT: Powerful 9-1-1 call handling software that maximizes call handler speed and efficiency while reducing information overload and stress. The technology offers a virtual response assistant that uses AI to resolve non-emergency calls and connects callers to resources, which can lessen a call handler’s workload by an estimated 20-35%. It integrates critical data including mapping, transcription, location details, caller profiles and facility data — from across public safety systems, onto a single platform, using assistive AI to extract and summarize information and help call handlers more quickly share key call details with dispatchers.
● PremierOne CAD: Computer-Aided Dispatch software that allows agencies to take their public safety software operations to the next level while laying the foundation for the future with Mobile and Records. It connects teams, allows for seamless collaboration and improves response with intuitive workflows and efficient, effective incident management.
● Avigilon Unity: On-premise video security and access control solution that brings together video security, access control and flexible cloud management features under one centralized and scalable solution that allows public safety and enterprises to detect, verify and act on critical threats.
● SmartIncident: A new broadband-enabled application that lets dispatchers push critical incident information — including messages, images, videos and audio clips — directly to a first responder’s APX NEXT or APX N70 smart radio. SmartIncident makes rich incident information easier for first responders and dispatchers to share and access, lessening traffic on radio voice channels.
Motorola Solutions’ technologies not only enhance RTCC effectiveness but also bridges the gap between public safety agencies and the communities they serve. By integrating AI, voice, video and data, agencies can deliver faster, better-informed responses, ensuring safer outcomes for both officers and citizens.
For law enforcement professionals, these tools represent a significant leap forward in addressing public safety challenges with speed, accuracy and collaboration. Learn more about Motorola Solutions’ ecosystem of safety technologies at www.motorolasolutions.com.