Baldwin County’s Board of Commissioners approved the contract for the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) last Tuesday evening, and officials ceremonially broke ground for the project the following morning.
The board officially approved the construction contract to Dyer Construction Company in the amount of $339,045 at its Tuesday meeting, Wednesday morning Sheriff Bill Massee welcomed county and company officials as they prepared to toss the first shovels of dirt.
Massee said the new RTCC facility would not have been possible without the county’s commitment.
“We can go to training, we can learn new things. We can come up and know what we need to do to help our communities,” the sheriff stated. “But, in all honesty, without the county commissioners funding this, I am going to tell you we wouldn’t have it.
“I think this is the most proactive public safety project that our county commissioners ever funded,” Massee noted. “I think it will benefit everybody in our county, and I would like to publicly thank them.
Neil Dyer said his company is prepared to move forward as soon as possible.
“We have to get delivery on the building,” he said. “That’s usually eight to 10 weeks. That will be the hold-up. Once we get the building, it will go very quickly.”
Massee said he anticipated a partnership with Georgia College & State University in the operation of the new facility.
“We truly think we will staff this new real time crime center with part-time interns, paid and regular interns from Georgia College,” he said at the ceremony. “The criminal justice program and the science department are real excited about participating with us.”
Massee also commented that he did not know of any other county in Georgia the size of Baldwin that has a real time data center.
“I think it will give us the opportunity to try to be in a leadership role in Middle Georgia,” the sheriff observed. “We work with all the adjacent sheriffs and chiefs, and we are pleased to be the hub and work with everybody.”
District 4 County Commissioner Henry Craig believes it is money well spent.
“I see this as another great investment for our community,” he commented. “And that includes the city. You’re looking at the site of another investment for public safety. This is one of the best 911 centers in the state. It is the best 911 center for a community our size.”
Craig said the new RTCC will provide additional safety for both citizens and law enforcement officers. Further, he pointed out, it will be a deterrent to crime.
“It’s a message to anybody who wants to do criminal things, that they should do it in another community,” the commissioner warned, “because we’re going to have the tools to protect our citizens, and we are going to take those who want to come here and make them wish they went somewhere else.”
Baldwin County Sheriff Department intelligence analyst Evelyn Johnson briefed commissioners at a June 4 meeting on the Real Time Crime Center operation, pointing out that agencies nationwide that are using similar facilities are reporting an increase of up to 66% in apprehensions. Johnson also said with an enhanced license plate reading system, there is an 87% chance of apprehension.