The Central New York Crime Analysis Center is getting a $700,000 expansion and will about triple its size in Syracuse. The center provides real-time intelligence and data sharing and will serve Oswego, Onondaga and Cayuga counties.
Construction is underway at the crime analysis center located at Syracuse police headquarters. Mike Green is the head of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, which supports a network of 10 centers, covering 31 counties across the state.
“We can’t add any more analysts here because there just physically is not space for another analyst,” Green said. “The people in this center and the partners that work with the center do amazing work, but they’re not in a space to house them to fully work to their potential. This will put the center on a footing where they can do the best work they can, they can have the best technology available, and they can be staffed at a level they really should be staffed at.”
He said the extra room will provide space for more analysts and a 16-foot wide video wall, which will display 911 calls, city police cameras, and Shotspotter technology, all in real time.
“People are realizing the full value of the centers and what the centers can bring," Green said. "It's everything from providing executives with information, how do we deploy resources, how do we shape our strategies, to very case specific; how do we put the information together to figure out what car was involved in this crime, what person was involved?"
Green said the centers are getting tens of thousands of requests from law enforcement agencies to analyze information every year, and the number is growing. The expansion is expected to be completed next month. The state and local governments are expected to split the cost.
