DeKalb County opens real-time crime center, pledges $21M in six-year technology investment

DeKalb County on Thursday formally opened its first real-time crime center, county leaders said, describing the facility as a move from reactive policing toward a coordinated, data-driven model intended to speed responses, aid investigations and support officers in the field.

"Today marks an important milestone for DeKalb County as we officially launch our first real-time crime center," said Deanna Smith, DeKalb County Chief Communications Officer, at the start of the event. Chief Executive Officer Lorraine Cochran Johnson said the center is part of the county's "Digital Shield" initiative and framed the investment as focused on prevention, faster response and accountability.

Cochran Johnson said the physical buildout of the center cost $2,000,000 and that the county has contracted roughly $18,900,000 in technology expenditures over six years; together she and other officials described the total as "about $21,000,000." "This investment is about prevention, speed and also about accountability," Cochran Johnson said, adding that the county reallocated more than $10,400,000 to increase police salaries and benefits to aid recruitment and retention.

Chief Gregory Padrick said the center will bring multiple data sources together in real time to help officers "respond faster, solve crimes more efficiently, and keep both our community and our officers safer." He told the media the county will host town hall meetings beginning in late January to present details to residents and answer questions.

County officials and a Flock Safety representative described the system as a combined platform of license-plate readers, fixed and pan-tilt-zoom cameras, mobile security trailers, gunshot-detection sensors, integration with 9-1-1 call data, and drones. A Flock representative said the Flock suite alone supports roughly 500 cameras; Chief Padrick added that, through the county's camera-registration program "Connect2Cab," the county currently has access to more than 1,000 cameras.

At a live demonstration, the RTCC team showed four primary screens: drone radar/flight area, the Flock live-feed interface, body-worn-video monitoring and a separate camera-aggregation screen. Lieutenant Smith, identified as the RTCC commander, said the demonstration drone was capable of reading a vehicle tag at 1,500 feet, though he and others said the drone typically operates at "approximately 400 feet or below" and noted the flight link is temporary and expires after each flight.

Officials described several operational uses for the tools: following vehicles in multi-jurisdictional chases, locating missing people with thermal imaging, rapidly capturing footage near crime scenes to assist detectives and improving officer safety by monitoring body-worn devices. The county also said it will use crime-analysis data to place four first-responder drones strategically in the highest-call areas; two were operational at the time of the event.

When asked about claims that DeKalb is the first county in the country to deploy a full Flock installation, event speakers attributed the phrasing to Flock and described DeKalb as among early adopters integrating multiple systems. "DeKalb County is the first county in the country to be a safe county," the Flock representative said; county officials urged reporters to view the deployment as a regional, collaborative effort with neighboring jurisdictions that already use similar systems.

On privacy and opt-out questions, Cochran Johnson said the county monitors public spaces and targeted locations with high incident rates, and that businesses decide whether to integrate live feeds. "If you invite us in," Cochran Johnson said, "we can go right inside the store and have the ability to see in real time what is transpiring on each and every camera that they have." The county also offers a registration option for cameras (Connect2Cab) so businesses can make their presence known without providing live access.

Project manager Chesney Hartree said the buildout began in early April and finished the previous Monday, about eight to nine months later; she said drone hardware was installed in roughly two weeks. Cochran Johnson said the Board of Commissioners stayed engaged throughout the process and that the county will report quarterly on the center's impact.

The press event concluded with a ribbon cutting and an outdoor drone demonstration. Media attendees were told they would receive a press release with quotes and official contact names for follow-up.

What happens next: town halls to explain the technology to the public are planned for late January, and county officials said they will provide quarterly updates on performance and outcomes.