| Technology to the Rescue in Pico Union
Kathryn A. Kohn, CCDO Program Manager
Police officers operate the license plate recognition
system through its console. |
Good old-fashioned police work sometimes needs a gadget or two to really start seeing results.
The Rampart Division of the Los Angeles Police Department covers an area of only 7 square miles, yet it is one of the highest crime divisions in the city. It is known for gang activity and narcotics sales, as well as for being the leading area for car thefts in L.A. But this area, just west of downtown, is also known for the efforts of the Pico Union Weed and Seed site and the technology-minded police department.
At the center of Pico Union's site is Macarthur Park, a 40-acre
park that used to be known for violence, drugs, and gangs.
A joint effort to reclaim the park that began over a year ago
has been successful, in large part due to a project that placed
cameras in the park that can pan, tilt, and zoom in on illegal
activity. Those cameras are linked to Rampart Station through
the Internet, allowing police officers to monitor the area
while being miles away from the location.
A second major technological innovation that aided police involves facial recognition software. This system, installed in November 2004, works with camera surveillance systems and can analyze images of human faces for comparison and identification. In just a few months, 19 arrests have been made with the assistance of this facial recognition software.
The success of these two systems led law enforcement to consider purchasing equipment for an automatic license plate recognition system for one of their patrol cars. With the assistance of their Weed and Seed grant, the Rampart Division put this third and newest technological application into action in January, which required equipping a patrol vehicle with forward- and rear-facing video cameras and a mobile data computer. The system can scan, recognize, and process the plates of several hundred cars within 15 minutes. License plates are automatically cross-checked in real time against local and national databases to identify vehicles that are of interest to law enforcement. Within 3 weeks of its inception, the license plate system helped officers detect 16 stolen cars in the Pico Union Weed and Seed area.
The Pico Union Weed and Seed site has pushed its crimefighting efforts forward by taking what works; seeking leverage from several sources including donations, federal funding, and private contributions; and implementing systems that have reduced crime. This success with technology has put Pico Union Weed and Seed and the Rampart Division in the media spotlight, with upcoming coverage by ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings and by Fox News .
For further information, contact:
Captain Charlie Beck
Commanding Officer, Rampart Area, LAPD
213-485-4060
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