Kastle, a proptech company focused on managed security, has pledged to expand its CapitalShield video surveillance program for use by the Washington D.C. Metro Police Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC) by committing all current cameras on the CapitalShield network and by donating an additional 1,000 cameras to expand CCTV coverage in the District.
Kastle Chairman Mark Ein joined Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, MPD Police Chief Pamela Smith and other officials to launch the RTCC and to announce the expanded program.
Kastle launched CapitalShield with the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in 2015 as a private-public partnership to use video camera technology to protect the city and make its neighborhoods safer. Through this program, commercial property owners, businesses and institutions help enhance public safety by providing MPD with direct access to their security cameras for either live video streams or smart video searches for recorded footage. This enables first responders to quickly gain the situational awareness required to assist citizens during emergency situations.
Kastle originally donated over 400 Kastle Video cameras to the launch of the CapitalShield program, and this network of cameras has since grown to over 1,000 locations city-wide. Program participants attach these cameras to their buildings for their own use, but also grant the MPD the ability to view their video during emergencies and for active investigations. In this second phase of the program, Kastle will now donate another 1,000 security cameras in support of the newly launched RTCC.
The company has worked with D.C. real estate companies including Akridge, Hoffman Associates and JBG Smith, to launch this program and are now adding new partners including Bozzuto and Red Brick to CapitalShield.
“To ensure public Safety in our communities, we need to use the best technology tools available and engage everyone in the community to come together and be part of the solution,” said Ein. “At Kastle, we are pleased to initiate this impactful public-private partnership that will greatly increase the number of real time cameras available to the Metropolitan Police Department for stopping and solving crimes.”
