Washoe County sheriff outlines Northern Nevada Real Time Intelligence Center and plan to deploy cameras at park parking lots
Summary
Lieutenant Joshua Jenkins described the Northern Nevada Real Time Intelligence Center (NNRTIC), a single “pane-of-glass” monitoring platform planned to open in June 2025, and a sheriff’s-office-funded plan to deploy about 120 cellular cameras focused on park parking lots to reduce vehicle burglaries.
Lieutenant Joshua Jenkins, director of the Northern Nevada Regional Intelligence Center and a Washoe County Sheriff's Office official, described plans to open the Northern Nevada Real Time Intelligence Center (NNRTIC) in June 2025 and to integrate multiple data sources — cameras, traffic maps, weather and social media — into a single monitoring platform to support law enforcement and emergency response.
Jenkins said the sheriff’s office purchased about 120 cellular cameras (the vendor cited was Flock) for deployment in high-crime areas, and that county-owned park cameras and other partners’ cameras would be integrated into the NNRTIC. “These cameras will not cost you anything” for the parks, Jenkins said, and explained the cameras are intended to focus on parking lots where vehicle burglaries and smashed windows have been concentrated.
The proposal calls for cameras to be placed outside park interiors, in parking areas only, to avoid monitoring recreational activity. Jenkins and Parks Operations Superintendent Stephanie D’Arcy said the list of parks under initial consideration includes Cold Springs Community Center, North Valleys Regional Park, Mayberry Park, Bartley Ranch Regional Park, South Valleys Regional Park, Hidden Valley Regional Park, Hunter Creek Trailhead, Lazy 5 Regional Park and Rancho San Rafael Park.
Jenkins described the NNRTIC as a regional operations hub that will consolidate crime analysis, intelligence analysis and detectives’ work on one platform to provide real-time situational awareness during events such as fires or other public-safety incidents. He said the unit will continue to work with state fusion centers and other regional partners.
On privacy and access, Jenkins said feeds will not be made public and that the sheriff’s office is seeking outside input, including outreach to the ACLU, to develop safeguards. He also said cameras would be used as potential evidence in criminal investigations and that access would be limited to partners and investigators, not the general public. The cameras discussed are cellular, solar-capable, and, Jenkins said, cost approximately $3,000 each with an expected annual user fee of about $3,000 per camera; he described deployment costs as borne by the sheriff’s office and partner organizations.
Commissioners asked whether the cameras would be useful for event monitoring and evacuation planning; Jenkins said some cameras would be positioned to support natural-disaster and evacuation response in addition to crime prevention. Commissioners and Sheriff Office staff discussed coordination with existing public and private camera systems and with local jurisdictions that have already deployed park cameras.
The item was a joint presentation for information; no formal vote was taken. The commission thanked Jenkins and D’Arcy for the presentation and raised questions about public notification, signage and partnerships.
