BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) — The Bay County Sheriff’s Office is working to streamline Bay County crime-fighting efforts.
During a press conference Monday, Sheriff Tommy Ford announced the details of the Bay Real-Time Operation Center, or BAYROC for short.
This project is a joint effort of the Sheriff’s Office and all other local authorities in the area.
BAYROC is based at the BCSO and consists of a supervisor and two full-time crime analysts.
The aim is to deliver relevant information directly to the local law enforcement authorities on the ground in real time.
“We are very happy about it. This has already happened in other parts of the country. I think it’s one of the first in that area of the state. But it’s based on the real-time crime center concept,” Ford said.
BAYROC uses an integrated system that combines school, traffic and business cameras to support law enforcement response and solve crimes.
The Sheriff says this new system offers endless possibilities.
“The technology is there and we have the building blocks in place to really make this an ongoing success. As we are able to add manpower and analysts to the system and refine these technologies. And you really know that we’ve only scratched the surface of what these things can do,” Ford said.
The system has been in operation since November.
- On the first day BAYROC was operational, the team was able to coordinate with PCPD to complete a silver alert and locate the missing person within five minutes of the alert. The elderly gentleman was reunited with his family.
- During the first month of operations, BAYROC located numerous wanted persons with outstanding warrants on charges ranging from burglary, domestic violence and grand theft.
- In December 2021, an emergency call reported a burglary. Within a minute of the 911 call, BAYROC personnel identified the suspect vehicle and relayed information to responding law enforcement agencies. The vehicle was located and the suspects arrested.
- That same month, the BCSO responded to a murder. Once the suspect was identified, the BAYROC team used technological resources to quickly learn that he had fled the state. Working with foreign law enforcement agencies, BAYROC helped coordinate his arrest in northern Alabama.
- In December, BAYROC, working with the Tallahassee Police Department, determined that a suspect was traveling between Tallahassee and Panama City and was involved in eight liquor store robberies. The result of this coordinated effort was the arrest of this suspect in the parking lot of a Tallahassee liquor store.
- During the month of January, BAYROC was able to identify and locate numerous wanted persons and burglary suspects who were arrested and taken into custody.
Traffic cameras used by BAYROC are currently available online to the general public. The cameras have a short storage period, which varies from system to system.
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