After a brief discussion and a suggestion to table the item until the next meeting, Monday night, Nov. 1, Oakdale City Council members instead went ahead and authorized the purchase of a high-tech computer server and six display monitors for a Real Time Crime Center Video Wall.

At a tune of $69,219 for the upgrade, the newly remodeled police dispatch center will enable dispatchers to utilize a single, massive display area that can show unique feeds or can be combined to show a single feed.

With eyes to the future, the remodel can accommodate up to 12 monitors for future expansions.

Currently, the dispatch center operates with two 50-inch television screens monitoring two locations: the high school and the skatepark.

Not only is the expansion a replacement of the current technology, but a significant upgrade, noted Councilmember Fred Smith.

After looking to other police departments and real-time crime centers for ideas, the City decided it was time to propel the Oakdale Police Department into the 21st century with a number of upgrades implemented in the current remodel.

According to city documents, OPD recently added the FUSUS Unified Intelligence Platform: a real time crime center (RTCC) in the cloud that integrates and enhances public safety and investigations assets.

The RTCC has the ability to provide real-time information to dispatchers and officers, and, with this larger display area, will significantly improve the effectiveness of the dispatch center. The RTCC displays calls for service, video feeds from throughout the city and locations of officers based on the vehicles’ Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL). This larger display center will give the dispatchers better tools to complete their tasks. It improves their performance, enhances officer safety and acts as a force multiplier.

The proposed display center will be a modular system; it can be configured for different uses. Dispatchers are commonly tasked with monitoring subjects that are in custody, cameras surrounding the building, and cameras throughout the community including local schools, the skate park and Gene Bianchi Community Center. This modular system will give them the ability to monitor many of these areas at the same time as well as allows for future expansion as needed.

OPD plans to expand the camera system into the parks for added security.

FUSUS has the ability to receive live feeds from officers in the field, unmanned aerial systems (drones) and other cameras. These live video feeds can then be transmitted to the display screens. The video display would be used as the command center for management of large-scale events.

After reviewing several other departments’ video systems, OPD accepted the bid from Internet Technology Consultant, DataPath.

Due to backlogged shipping issues, it could take upwards of two months to receive the equipment and install.