BEAUMONT, Texas — The Beaumont Police Department is showing off its new "Real-Time Crime Center" which has been two years in the making.
"Fusus" is the name of the system that the center uses and it is billed as being able to help stop crime as it's happening.
City leaders tell 12news that the new crime center is all about making Beaumont a safer place to live.
We got a first-hand look at how the $275,000 center works.
The system has already been instrumental in solving 87 cases, recovering illegal guns and serving warrants according to Beaumont Police.
"When people feel safer because they are safer that is a big impact for Beaumont, Texas," said Mayor Roy West.
We've been hearing about the new center and how it will prevent crime but we haven't had a chance to actually see it until now.
"It is an incredible day," West said, adding "what an incredible facility."
The city invited dozens downtown on Thursday for the center's official ribbon cutting
"We are very excited to finally be able to reveal our real time crime center," officer Haley Morrow said, "this is something that other police departments have implemented across the country."
During a tour, city leaders and the media got to see how the system works.
The Fusus technology brings a variety of camera feeds from all around the city into one room.
Currently there are 1,915 "registered" cameras and 564 "integrated" cameras as part of the system.
"Registered cameras are strictly our citizens saying, hey, Beaumont PD we have cameras here," Morrow explained.
By registering your camera, such as a Ring doorbell camera, you're letting Beaumont Police know that you have a camera at your address.
If a crime happens in your neighborhood police can easily ask you to check your camera and send them the video.
It enables police to easily see available cameras near a crime scene and then ask their owners all at once to check them for anything pertinent to an investigation.
It save officers the time of visiting each home to see of they have a camera.
The next level in sharing a camera with police is to integrate it.
"Integrated is really what we want for businesses, restaurants , and convenience stores," Morrow says.
This way the city can be granted real-time access to cameras.
"In an armed robbery, for instance, they can they can go live, they can see the person," West explains, "they can see when they leave, which direction they go in, if they get in a car so all of a sudden. It's just given so many more tools."
It will cost about $200 to "integrate" your camera, according to Morrow.
Just registering a camera, though, is free.
Some schools in the city are already working to get on board with their cameras, Morrow says..
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
If you have information about a crime you could earn a cash reward of up to $1000 by providing an ANONYMOUS tip to Crime Stoppers of Southeast Texas.
Call 833-TIPS (8477) or download the P3Tips App on your mobile device to submit your tip anonymously.