KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) – As the investigation into Thursday’s shooting in Killeen that left one person dead and another injured, the Killeen Police Department is deploying technology that could prove crucial in helping gather evidence.
Friday morning, they posted a QR code and link on their Facebook page, which directs those who follow it to the department’s new evidence submission portal.
“We had a shooting yesterday, where we know there were a lot of videos posted online,” said Sgt. Neal Holtzclaw of the KPD Robbery-Homicide Unit.
“We don’t always see all these videos. You can scan the QR code and it will take you directly to the evidence portal, where you can submit a video relevant to the crime we are requesting assistance with.
This new evidence portal is part of KPD’s new body camera system and part of a larger initiative to increase its digital footprint.
Using this technology, which allows citizens to submit evidence directly into the KPD database, allows officers like Holtzclaw to get on a case more quickly.
“Anyone who is back at the police department can go back and see this instantly,” Holtzclaw said.
“If we have people monitoring live, we can get that information to our officers faster, and now we’re able to get real-time information to officers quicker.” »
Although the portal can potentially facilitate investigations, the system is not foolproof.
Not all key information can be filmed, meaning the days of going door to door to speak to witnesses are not completely over.
“Sometimes you can get more information, maybe they heard or saw something beyond the video they provided to us,” Holtzclaw said.
“So you don’t get that personal contact, but you can get more video than you ever would have by just going door to door.”
Although it provides less of a personal touch, the ministry says one of the biggest benefits of the system is allowing it to reallocate labor.
“If it’s a busy night, we may not have additional officers who can go door to door,” Holtzclaw said.
“So having that resource to help us distribute that workforce is huge.” This changes things enormously.
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