The Real Time Crime Unit (RTC) serves as the Westchester County and regional law enforcement intelligence and information hub, connecting more than 100 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in and surrounding Westchester County.
RTC plays a critical role in:
- Disseminating information necessary to identify pattern crimes and suspects
- Issuing the latest bulletins on officer safety and criminal investigation methods and techniques, necessary to enhance law enforcement’s detection and apprehension capabilities.
RTC holds regular intelligence-sharing meetings to facilitate the exchange of information among the numerous police agencies in and around the county. Moreover, it utilizes a secure list server and Web site to give law enforcement members immediate access to current and historical information and intelligence.
RTC investigations include:
- Counter-terrorism
- Registered sex offenders
- Computer crime
- Bank fraud
- Stolen property
- Predicate felons and gun-related cases.
These investigations are often conducted in conjunction with:
- Local law enforcement
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation
- The Joint Terrorist Task Force
- The New York City Police Department
- The New York State Police
- The Office of Homeland Security
- Other law enforcement agencies
Westchester Putnam RTC is a centralized technology center for the Westchester County Police and the regional law enforcement community. Its purpose is to give field officers and detectives instant information to help identify patterns and stop emerging crime. RTC is focused on monitoring, deterring and evaluating criminal activity in real-time through surveillance cameras, fixed and mobile license plate recognition (LPR) systems, crime analysis, and other law enforcement software and databases. The RTC provides investigative support to the first responders on scenes and to detectives handling follow-up investigations.
Additionally, RTC is responsible for monitoring reports of bias crimes throughout the county. The unit also tracks convicted sex offenders who reside in the Town of Cortlandt and Westchester County housing facilities to ensure the offenders are in compliance with Megan’s Law.