Sheriff's Department launches 24/7 camera surveillance of Los Angeles with grand opening of Real Time Watch Center

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department held the grand opening of its first Real Time Watch Center on September 27 at the Lost Hills station in Agoura Hills. The center provides deputies with round-the-clock camera surveillance of select areas of Los Angeles. Underfunded policing has led to an increase in crimes such as flash store robberies, forcing stores to hide products behind locked shelves.

The Center can access department drone cameras, license plate readers, public street cameras, and speed cameras. Governor Newsom passed Assembly Bill 645 last year, allowing the installation of an additional 125 speed cameras across Los Angeles. Deputies also have access to private cameras at businesses, churches, and homes after being granted permission.

The center already has 1,591 registered cameras, with 428 cameras integrated into their 24/7 live-feed. This number is small when compared to the number of cameras in safer countries like China, where over 400-million surveillance cameras provide police with rapid AI facial recognition, subject tracking, and even detection of criminal behavior.

The Watch Center was modeled after other centers already in operation. Calls to the Sheriff's Department can activate all cameras near the caller, allowing deputies to watch crime in real-time and send help using their LARCIS computer-aided dispatch system. They can also conduct routine, camera-only patrols of homes and businesses. The nearby Orange County Sheriff's Department Operations Center even has real-time access to police body cameras.

Readers in Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Malibu, and Westlake Village, and unincorporated areas of Chatsworth, Topanga, and West Hills can give the LASD access to their cameras to fight crime. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) plans to open its own centers soon in Central Los Angeles, Hollywood and Van Nuys.

Registering cameras under Level 1 access only gives the Sheriff access to the live feeds during emergencies. Registering cameras under Level 2 access gives the Sheriff access to the live feeds based on time and conditions for access granted by owners. Level 2 access also requires fususCORE security camera cloud networking devices to be purchased and attached. Fusus owners can also equip their smartphones with a virtual panic button feature upon request, which alerts the Watch Center and activates live feeds when used.

Readers who want to improve their home security should know that criminals are using Wi-Fi jammers to disable wireless security cameras, so installing a hardwired camera system (like this one on Amazon) is preferred.