BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Two years after its grand opening, the Real Time Crime Center is continuing to assist the Birmingham Police Department by reducing crime on the streets.

Officer Truman Fitzgerald says the center has assisted police in over 315 arrests, helped recover 214 stolen vehicles, recovered 88 guns and helped locate over 15 missing persons over the course of its operation.

Fitzgerald says the center provides immediate assistance to officers at a crime scene.

“If you listen to the radio, one of the first things our officers say when they get on calls is, hey, is the Real Time Crime Center able to assist me? These are our bodyguards,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald says the center is serving its purpose by changing people’s lives through solving crimes. While he says anyone who sees a crime should report it, the technology used in the center is helping police solve crimes even when no one provides a tip.  

“When you go back to that first homicide that the real-time crime center helped solve on day one, that homicide took place in an area where people were afraid to come forward and give information,” Fitzgerald said. “What our real-time crime center was able to do was become that voice for a human witness.”

The Real Time Crime Center has also assisted officers on 340 scenes and other agencies in 44 events during its two years of operation.