Stateside, 120 municipalities have Real Time Crime Centers. V.I. Police Commissioner Ray Martinez, who has visited several, recommended Tuesday to the Committee on Homeland Security, Justice, and Public Safety that the Virgin Islands get two — one on St. Croix and one on St. Thomas. The department already has the funding from the U.S. Department of the Interior to establish the one on St. Croix.
The Real Time Crime Center aims to allow the police department to capitalize on new technologies for effective policing.
The proposed crime centers would be equipped with gunshot detection technology, a surveillance camera network, automated license plate reading, fingerprint technology, criminal records, and facial recognition capability.
Martinez testified that “police personnel are hard-pressed to make the quick connections and deductions necessary for effective policing” when they can’t access real-time information about “criminals, victims, witnesses, and complainants in various settings.”
Discussion concerning the bill included whether it was financially advisable to have two centers. Senators said they were not so concerned with the initial costs as they were with ongoing costs.
Martinez said staffing a center would cost about $1.2 million a year and equipment and software would cost $150,000 annually for the first three years and could go up. Sen. Javan James asked for documents documenting the specifics of those estimates to be forwarded to the senators.
Daryl Jaschen, director of the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency, who was present at the meeting, said each of the 911 call centers in the territory cost $1 million annually.
Sen. Gittens said, “I see the need for these Real Time Crime Centers, but I’m not sure we have the capacity in terms of staffing or office space. I want to make sure we are not biting off more than we can chew.”
Senators held that bill and another bill relating to background checks in committee.
Gittens said in a press release issued after the meeting, “I anticipate that both the measures we held today will be reintroduced before the end of the year.”
The committee did forward to Rules and Judiciary one bill.
Sen. Marvin Blyden sponsored the bill intended to criminalize disseminating photos of a crime or accident scene by first responders. In introducing the measure, Blyden said that it is terrible enough to be a victim of a crime, but it is even worse to have bloody and gruesome images of the crime circulating on social media. He added this sense of violation can only be completely comprehended by those who have experienced it themselves.
Martinez testified that he supported the bill but he said 99 percent of the videos and photos of local crime scenes circulated on social media were not taken by first responders.
Gittens asked, “We also have wrecker drivers, media, and bystanders at crime and accident scenes — how can we hold those individuals accountable?”
Attorney General Ariel Smith recommended strengthening the bill by expanding first responders to government employees.
