Recently I was given a tour of the Memphis Police Department’s new “Real Time Crime Center,” by their day-shift supervisor Jeff Tow and systems manager, John Harvey. Here are the five things I believe you should know about the work that has been going on in this police facility over the four years of its existence.

1. It is achieving results. “We’re driving crime down drastically in the city whether the news wants to report it or not” said Tow. According to statistics provided by Mr. Harvey, crime has gone down 30% in the city since 2006.

2. Technology is the driving force behind our capacity to fight crime. You may have noticed the cameras on top of many Memphis Police cars, these are called Prowlers and they are driving up arrests all over the city. Costing $20,000 per unit, the Prowler camera can see across three lanes of traffic and can read plates on cars going in excess of 100 mph. If there are any problems with the occupant of the car (the Prowler detects possible sex offenders, possible warrant, possible parolee, possible stolen vehicle, possible gangster, possible felon, possible expired tags, possible vehicle of interest, possible burglar), the Prowler will alert the officers and the police can pull over the vehicle with probable cause. In addition to 71 Prowlers, the city of Memphis has over 200 fixed cameras in the city, which enable the police to not only survey areas without personnel around—allowing one analyst to cover areas that police cannot be at all times. Furthermore, cameras now read every license plate that enters and leaves Memphis on a major freeway, so if any major felons come through the city we can report them to the appropriate authorities.

3. Predicting crime is the key to preventing crime. The computers at the Real Time Crime Center sort and track all the crime reports to help police see what crimes are prevalent in what areas and assess the proper resources to counter the it. One example we were shown at the station was a truancy report—any child or teenager who had a criminal record had an icon over their home address. Policeman then often visit the home of the offender to make sure that the former convict is not skipping school in order to cause more trouble.

4. “It’s more like Big Sister than Big Brother.” These were the words of John Harvey, who pointed out that the technology made police work more efficient, not more invasive. Homes and personal properties are not a part of the MPD’s new surveillance and monitoring effort. I heard only one story about the Prowler cameras that made me a little concerned about invasions of privacy: apparently, if you share a residence with someone who has a warrant out on them then the police have probable cause to pull your car over (assuming that there is someone in the car who shares the same gender as the fugitive). When I asked, Harvey said that if the fugitive was not in the car, then they could still arrest the driver if there was any obvious contraband in the car. The story was a little unsettling, but the only real lesson is to be sure to hide any contraband if you live with someone who has a warrant out for their arrest.

5. The average citizen should be happy about these changes. Not only is Memphis being made safer through the real time crime center, but “Joe Citizen” has very little to worry about as far as being caught for minor traffic infractions. While red-light cameras have given over 32,000 tickets since January, minor infractions such as failing to fully stop on red before completing a right hand turn have been erased. As Tow explained: “enough people bitch and moan and program money starts to go away. So one can take comfort in the fact that no matter how technologically advanced and efficient the police become, they are not above the democratic process and as such are unlikely to ever become too invasive.

MPD, Police, Real Time Crime Center Business & Innovation, Memphis Living