MURFREESBORO, TN - More crime-fighting tools are now under the watchful eye of the Murfreesboro Police Department in their Real-Time Crime Center... That was MPD Chief Michael Bowen, who highlighted the crime center has been in development for several years. Presently, the police make use of technology that can detect the sound of a gunshot from miles away, License Plate Readers, and cameras... The MPD picked camera locations based primarily on violent crime data.

The computer technology can detect the sound of a gunshot when fired throughout city. This acoustic detection captures the gunshot sound, interpreted by a computer program that sends real-time information to the Real Time Crime Center within the police department, often specifying if the gun was a semi-automatic or fully automatic, and recording the number of shots fired. 

Combining patrol officers with new technologies that can detect the location of shots being fired, read license plates that locate vehicles tied to crimes, BodyCams that increase transparency, in-car video systems that can capture pursuits, with a mix of public safety cameras, will reportedly enhance law enforcement's ability to solve and prevent crimes.

Murfreesboro PD officials plan to further expand the Real-Time Crime Center with support from Governor Bill Lee's Crime Grant program... Gov. Lee, along with the General Assembly, previously allocated $100 million to the 2022-23 budget for the Violent Crime Intervention Fund (VCIF). This fund continues to provide grants for local law enforcement agencies to adopt new technologies, with the aim of reducing violent crime.