(PUEBLO, Colo.) — The City of Pueblo will be expanding the Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC) with Community Connect, a program designed to increase the safety of the people of Pueblo by allowing the Pueblo Police Department (PPD) to integrate the RTCC with personal and business cameras on a voluntary basis. On Sunday, Dec. 15, PPD Chief of Police Chris Noeller announced the expansion, saying “The Pueblo Police Department is excited to launch the first phase of Community Connect, furthering our department’s efforts to find innovative ways to partner with the community and fight crime.”  The new program is a public-private community partnership, blending real-time crime fighting and community policing. “Decreased crime rates create safer, more welcoming spaces for citizens, visitors, and businesses alike and is key to the revitalization of the neighborhoods across our great city,” added Mayor Heather Graham. “Supporting our business community is one of my top priorities as mayor, and I am glad to see our Police Department continue to find new ways to address these issues.” Community members and businesses can opt into varying levels of program integration, with camera registration launching on Monday, Dec. 16, allowing the RTCC to know the locations of cameras. Having access to quality video footage of incidents has been invaluable to law enforcement's ability to respond to and solve crime, and knowing where video footage is available will allow PPD to quickly request and receive video footage. If an incident takes place, the RTCC can send an email to the registered camera owners in the area requesting video footage that may have been captured by the cameras that the owners can then send electronically. Cameras will not be continuously monitored by RTCC staff. Phase two will launch in the Spring of 2025, allowing homeowners and businesses to share live video feeds from their cameras directly to the RTCC. For Pueblo community members interested in signing up for the Community Connect program, click on the link above.