Anne Arundel Real Time Information Center: Turning Data Into Safer Streets

Outcomes: Measurable crime reductions and operational wins

In just its first full year of operation, Anne Arundel County’s Real‑Time Information Center has contributed to both tactical wins and major shifts in county‑wide crime trends. Police Chief Amal E. Awad calls the RTIC “21st‑century innovative, smart policing at its finest,” emphasizing that it gives officers immediate access to critical, potentially life‑saving information.

In 2025 alone, RTIC‑linked work and integrated technology helped:

• Recover more than 2 million dollars in stolen vehicles.

• Arrest wanted persons and support drug investigations.

• Locate missing individuals by combining live video, ALPR hits, and investigative databases.

County crime statistics for 2025 show major double‑digit drops across several categories:

• 47% decrease in citizen robberies.

• 46% fewer commercial robberies.

• 30% reduction in stolen autos.

• 27% drop in carjackings.

• Significant declines in both contact and non‑contact shootings.

Police leadership credits proactive strategies powered by the RTIC, an expanded ALPR network, and a growing drone program as major drivers of these reductions.

Anne Arundel RTIC History and Purpose

Anne Arundel County’s Real‑Time Information Center formally opened on February 4, 2025, inside a secure facility in Millersville, MD. The county invested approximately 1.5 million dollars in a 1,300‑square‑foot, state‑of‑the‑art space focused on public safety, crime prevention, and emergency response.

From day one, the RTIC was designed to be:

• A central hub for aggregating real‑time information from across the county.

• An analysis center where trained staff can turn raw feeds into actionable intelligence.

• A force‑multiplier that improves both officer safety and investigative outcomes in the field.

By the time the center opened, its early pilot work had already demonstrated its impact, including support in at least 200 incidents such as the Glen Burnie stolen‑truck case.

How the RTIC was funded and equipped

To bring the Real‑Time Information Center to life, Anne Arundel County leveraged state and local funding along with grant support.

Key funding and resource highlights include:

• Primary funding from the Maryland Office of Crime Prevention & Policy’s Byrne Justice Assistance Grant, which supports RTIC development statewide.

• Additional technology—especially automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras that integrate directly into the RTIC—funded through police budgets and complementary grants.

• Continued investment in networked cameras, software platforms, and data systems that allow analysts to correlate live activity with historical information.

This combination of grants and budgeted dollars allowed the county to build a modern RTIC without compromising on mission‑critical functionality or long‑term scalability.

Maintaining public trust: Privacy, policy, and governance

From its earliest planning stages, Anne Arundel County leaders understood that expanding video and data capabilities would raise important questions about privacy. The RTIC operates under a formal privacy policy that governs exactly how technology and data can be used.[1]

Core elements of the RTIC’s governance framework include:

• A requirement that all technologies and datasets are used ethically, lawfully, and only for legitimate law‑enforcement purposes.

• An explicit prohibition on using facial recognition on RTIC video feeds.

• A commitment not to routinely monitor community‑shared or residential cameras; participation in Community Connect and camera‑registry programs is voluntary, and business owners’ control which cameras are viewable and when.

• A clear rule that residential cameras are never accessible as live feeds—video is only requested after an incident occurs nearby.

• Strong data protections, including strict access controls, high security standards, and regular audits.

These guardrails help the county balance powerful new capabilities with community expectations for civil liberties and responsible technology use.

Why the Anne Arundel County RTIC matters for other agencies

Anne Arundel County’s Real‑Time Information Center is emerging as a model for how counties and mid‑sized jurisdictions can blend technology, privacy safeguards, and thoughtful control‑room design. The county invested in a well governed, purpose built RTIC rather than simply adding more cameras. This gives analysts and officers a space where they can see the complete operational picture at once.

For agencies considering a Real‑Time Crime Center (RTCC) or Real‑Time Information Center, Anne Arundel’s approach highlights several takeaways:

• Start with community context and specific public‑safety challenges, then design technology around those needs.

• Pair grants and local funding to build a scalable center instead of piecemeal solutions.

• Put strong privacy policies and governance in place from day one to maintain public trust.

• Treat the control room as a mission‑critical environment where furniture, layout, and AV integration are as important as the software stack.

Ready to build your own RTCC or RTIC?

Fountainhead Control Rooms helps law‑enforcement agencies, counties, and cities design and build Real‑Time Crime Centers and other mission‑critical operations spaces across the United States. From Anne Arundel County, MD to Warner Robins, GA and Spokane County, WA, the team delivers end‑to‑end control‑room solutions that improve situational awareness and outcomes.

If you are exploring a Real‑Time Crime Center, Real‑Time Information Center, or public‑safety command center, Fountainhead can help you define requirements, design the room, and integrate the technology stack so your analysts and officers can make better decisions, faster.