OPD targets peak hours for patrols, building real time crime center

ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - The Orlando Police Department is reorganizing it’s patrols to target the peak demand hours. It’s a move  they hope will help cutback on crime and reduce response time.

The Chief of Police said this new shift structure is no different than how a restaurant would operate.

“You have to treat our business, the police business, as a business,” Chief Orlando Rolon said. “You don’t want to bring all your resources when you don’t need them.”

Just like waiters anticipating a dinner rush, cops will be out at the ready to serve when calls are at their highest.

Rolling said their peak hours are between 7am and midnight on weekdays and 3am to 3pm on weekends.

The changes are already in motion, giving cops better working hours and improving response times.

“We found ourselves holding calls because we did not have the available resources to basically dispatch these officers to,” Rolon said. “Now during the peak hours of the say - ‪6pm‬ - now we have extra resources to be available to respond to calls.”

Right now the city of Orlando utilized cameras all over downtown to side with investigations.

But this would take it a step further by hiring more analysts to monitor the live feeds and data. 

“We’re gonna have a real time crime center,” Rolon said. “We’re building it up as we speak. It will take some months to get it fully operational.”

Putting cops in the right place at the right time.