President GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO leads the inauguration rites of the Regional Tactical Operation and Intelligence Center (RTOIC) of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) in Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan Taguig City.

RTOIC is the first Operation Center of the Philippine National Police that has the capability of a full-scale Command, Control, and Communication Center and shall serve as the main monitoring and dispatch hub of all police operations in Metro Manila.

The Center has video wall consisting of forty two (42) 40-inch Large Format Display (LFD) monitors that have been configured to show video feeds from all Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras all over the metropolis. Using state-of-the-art wireless technology, all existing CCTV systems, such as those in the cities of Manila, Taguig, Pasig, Quezon City, and that of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) are integrated through a digital backhaul facility.

Its data storage capacity can handle six (6) months of video data and two (2) years of backup. This makes the Center not only useful in responding tactical situations but also provides a rich database of information that can be used for strategic planning and other police administration purposes.

RTOIC has been designed to absorb the traditional functions of the Regional Tactical Operation Center (RTOC). These functions include the reception and transmittal of all communications by fax, e-mail, and through radio. In dispatch or deployment of patrol units, its Global Positioning System (GPS) technology together with digital maps on screen allows accurate tracking of mobile patrol cars. These facilities have been proven to be very useful in monitoring of incidents and in calibrating response of police personnel and units to be deployed.

PDIR ROSALES showed the direction of future developments of RTOIC. He mentioned the intent to fully utilize the capability of the present system to handle as much as 2,000 CCTV cameras in order to cover all cities and the lone municipality of Pateros. He also aid that NCRPO will later on employ Video Analytics to monitor, without active human intervention, concerns such as one-way streets, left baggage, loitering, carnapping, and perimeter intrusion. The system also provides a platform for thermal cameras to monitor fire and explosion incidents in Metro Manila as well as long-range cameras with zoom capability of up to 30 kilometers.