Murfreesboro Police Chief Michael Bowen and Capt. Clayton Williams focus on a bold push for safer streets, stronger families and a thriving business community.

Murfreesboro Police Chief Michael Bowen and Capt. Clayton Williams focus on a bold push for safer streets, stronger families and a thriving business community. 

• Real Time Crime Center: This high-tech department has added additional staff members, and in doing so they have expanded the hours of operation even more. 
• Chief Bowen notes that with "shots fired" calls, the Real Time Crime Center uses triangulation to pinpoint the location within 30-feet or less from which the shots were fired. Officers are now arriving at the scene 0ne-minute before the first call from the public. 
• Capt. Williams shared new technology that is being tested to deter crime and make communities safer: In New York drones are being dispatched to crime scenes, and get there much more quickly than officers. They are able to capture video evidence often when the criminals are still there. In addition, "facial recognition" is being developed for extreme accuracy along with new technology to assure privacy for law abiding citizens. 
• MPD is again considering Precincts. City Council has been talking with police, fire and parks about a first-responder emergency station at Veterans Parks that is currently being constructed on Veterans Parkway, across from Ascenstion St. Thomas' Westlawn Hospital/ER. Chief Bowen said this is an extreme distance for officers to travel at the end of shifts to complete the required reports. With less travel time, the officers would have more "patroling time". 
• Listener questions about bringing more order to the historic downtown square. The listener was concerned with vehicles not obeying the 15 mph speed limits while they are alos texting or using a hand-held phone and not watching for pedestrians or children. At the same time, pedestrians are on the phones, and cross streets without looking for traffic. Plus, kids on skateboards seem to have no awareness of what's going on around them. Chief Bowen said, "For the past year, MPD has added a team of officers to "walk the beat" around the historic downtown area." The chief said he would make them aware of this concern, and have them monitor it closely.