MURFREESBORO, TN — Nearly a year after launching its Real Time Crime Center, the Murfreesboro Police Department is expanding its reach. Police Chief Michael Bowen announced that additional staff have been hired to extend the center’s operational hours into the evening, a move aimed at enhancing community safety and officer support.
Until now, the Real Time Crime Center primarily operated during daytime shifts. When incidents occur overnight, an on-call technician could access the system and relay critical information to officers in the field. With the four new hires, the center now maintains live coverage into the evening hours, leaving only the early morning hours reliant on the on-call system.
Chief Bowen emphasized that while the center collects a wealth of data, not all officers have direct access to it—an intentional safeguard to protect residents’ privacy.
The Real Time Crime Center has already proven its value, using advanced technology to pinpoint the location of gunfire and provide officers with real-time intelligence before the first 911 call is even placed. Now, Murfreesboro is looking ahead to even more cutting-edge tools.
Captain Clayton Williams joined Chief Bowen in discussing new technology being piloted in other cities—namely, the use of drones dispatched directly from Real Time Crime Centers. These drones can arrive at crime scenes faster than patrol cars, capturing high-resolution images of suspects in action, often before they realize they’re being watched. In some cases, officers have arrived while crimes were still in progress, leading to immediate arrests.
While Murfreesboro already uses drones, Bowen noted that the city is not yet deploying them at this advanced level. Still, he believes the future is near. “Technology changes quickly,” he said, “and apprehension of criminals will continue to increase dramatically through additional Real Time Crime technology.”
As Murfreesboro continues to invest in innovation, city leaders say the goal remains clear: to make the community safer, smarter, and more responsive—one real-time decision at a time.
