Editor's note: This article has been updated to include a statement from SMPD officials that addresses privacy concerns.

By Jorge Casuso

April 24, 2026 -- The Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) officially joined a growing number of U.S. cities Wednesday that have launched real-time crime centers considered both a "game-changer" in fighting crime and a risk to personal privacy.

The Santa Monica Analytical Real-Time Center (SMART Center), paid for with a competitive $6.125 million State grant, marks "a significant advancement in how the City prevents, responds to, and investigates crime," police officials said.

The SMART Center integrates public safety technologies that include "the City’s camera network, Live 911, Drone as a First Responder operations, and advanced video analytics" into "a single operational platform," officials said.

"This integration allows personnel to monitor incidents as they unfold, provide real-time intelligence to officers in the field, and support faster, more informed decision-making during critical incidents."

Chief Darrick Jacob called the official opening of the center, which already has been in use, "a significant step forward in how we deliver public safety."

“The SMART Center allows us to operate with greater precision, coordinate in real time, and proactively address crime trends while maintaining our commitment to transparency and accountability,” Jacob said.

The SMART Center -- which is funded by the California Board of State and Community Corrections -- addresses Organized Retail Theft (ORT), "a regional and statewide issue impacting Santa Monica’s commercial districts," officials said.

The system "enhances SMPD’s ability to identify patterns, track repeat offenders, and coordinate with partner agencies to disrupt organized theft networks that operate across jurisdictional boundaries," officials said.

"During active incidents, SMART personnel can synthesize information from multiple sources, coordinate aerial support through drone deployment, and provide officers with a clear operational picture to improve both effectiveness and safety."

Santa Monica's SMART Center was launched amid widespread concerns that crime was crippling the city's efforts to boost its struggling economic recovery.

“Safe streets are the foundation of Santa Monica’s comeback,” Mayor Caroline Torosis said in a statement. “The new businesses opening, the visitors returning, the investment flowing back into our corridors, all of it depends on people feeling safe here.

"The SMART Center gives our officers the real-time tools and information they need to deliver on that promise, and that is great news for every resident, every business owner, and every family in this city.”

Limited research has concluded that while real time crime centers can significantly improve case clearances and facilitate arrests, they did not significantly improve the odds of conviction, according to a 2025 report in the Justice Evaluation Journal.

The integration of real-time crime intelligence centers into dozens of law enforcement agencies nationwide -- including police departments in New York, Chicago, Detroit and New Orleans -- has raised concerns about increased government monitoring and misuse of data, prompting privacy advocates to push for safeguards.

When the Seattle Police Department launched its center last summer, the ACLU of Washington cited “evidence that these technologies do not reduce violent crime and disproportionately harm communities of color,” according to reports.

In a follow-up statement to GeekWire, a national technology news site focused on the Seattle region, the ACLU expressed wider concerns about the potential loss of personal privacy and civil liberties.

“Seattle’s installation of cameras and real-time crime center software is an expansion of surveillance technology that should concern Seattle residents," wrote Vanessa Torres Hernandez, integrated advocacy director for the ACLU-WA.

"Public safety is critical, but these technologies are not proven to reduce violent crime," she wrote. "They instead collect a massive amount of data about people’s whereabouts."

"Despite promises from officials about safeguards," Torres Hernandez said that "there is no guarantee the data collected is protected from out-of-state agencies seeking to do harm."

SMPD officials said the SMART Center is not used "to enable random or continuous monitoring" but is instead "incident driven and purpose specific."

"All systems within the SMART Center are operated by trained personnel under department policy, applicable law, and supervisory oversight," Department officials said in a statement to The Lookout.

"Access to these systems is restricted, and their use is limited to legitimate public safety purposes such as active incidents, investigations, and coordinated emergency response."

The SMART Center is being implemented with "clear operational guidelines, defined limits on access and use of information, and ongoing review of how these tools are deployed," officials said.

"As with any public safety technology, our focus is on using these tools lawfully, responsibly, and in a way that supports both public safety and community trust."