Police departments across the country are investing in capabilities to respond to crimes in real-time, frequently referred to as real-time crime centers (RTCCs), real time awareness centers, real time operations centers, or other monikers.

As public safety funding in many parts of the country is increasingly being used for real time operations support, real-time crime centers enable law enforcement to better respond to incidents of all kinds, marshalling the proper resources to keep people safe and help officers act quickly and effectively.

Real-time crime centers are cross-disciplinary, involving multiple technologies and department personnel in a variety of roles. In order to effectively stand up and operate an RTCC, here are five things to consider.