Wichita City Council members have given unanimous approval to a contract that will provide technology for a real-time information center that will be operated by the Wichita Police Department.

Police Captain Aaron Moses said the center will collect video and information from body-worn cameras, dash cameras, license plate readers and other systems within the police department, along with information sources that are made available to the department, such as business surveillance cameras and school building cameras and systems.  The center will provide real-time information to officers in the field and it will enhance the ability to manage active incidents and support the later investigations.

In response to a question from City Council Member Mike Hoheisel, Moses said the police department may want to highlight the work of the center publicly, but as it has done with social media, the department would work with the city’s legal department and there are policies in place to protect the privacy and information of citizens.

Moses said there have been discussions with Sedgwick County Emergency Communications director Elora Forshee and she wants to have a 911 dispatcher in the center to have a direct connection with activities at the center.   He said the police department shares the same vision of having a whole city approach to crime prevention, crime reduction and crime response.

The Council approved a contract with Axon Enterprises for its Fusus Real-Time Crime Center platform that can gather video and data feeds from a number of sources and apps.  The cost will be $150,000 a year and the department will use grant funding for the first year of operating costs, and then it will be included in the Police Department budget but Moses said there will be efforts to find more grant funding for the center.

Moses said the real-time center is under construction on the 5th floor of City Hall and it should be operational in late May or June.