Public Safety Technology
Overview
The Scottsdale Police Department (SPD) is committed to keeping our community safe for everyone who lives, works, and visits Scottsdale. As a premier destination for tourism, entertainment, dining, and recreation, Scottsdale welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world and hosts a wide range of large-scale events throughout the year. These unique demands require a proactive and adaptable approach to public safety.
The department utilizes advanced technology and innovative strategies to enhance public safety, support our officers, and protect the community while respecting individual rights and privacy. These efforts are supported by proactive audits, ongoing reviews, transparency, and accountability measures designed to ensure technology and enforcement practices are used responsibly and consistent with established policies and legal requirements.
Technologies that Enhances Public Safety
Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR)
Body-Worn Cameras
Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV)
Drone as a First Responder (DFR)
The Scottsdale Police Department uses a variety of technologies to support officers, assist with investigations, respond to emergencies, and enhance public safety throughout our community. Each technology serves a specific public safety purpose and is guided by department policies, applicable laws, and safeguards designed to protect individual rights and privacy.
Many of these technologies are coordinated through the department’s Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC). The RTCC is a centralized resource that provides officers and investigators with timely information and technological support during active incidents and ongoing investigations. Staffed by specially trained personnel, the RTCC helps provide real-time intelligence to officers responding to calls in the field, detectives conducting investigations, and personnel managing critical incidents.
The use of technology by the RTCC is a force multiplier and it does not replace the work of officers in the field. Instead, it serves as an additional resource, bringing together information from multiple public safety systems to enhance situational awareness, help connect critical information, and support informed decision-making. By responsibly leveraging technology alongside the experience and judgment of our personnel, the Scottsdale Police Department works to provide effective, responsive, and accountable public safety services to those who live, work, and visit our city.
Our Commitment to You
Police technology is more than the tools we use to enhance public safety. It reflects our ongoing commitment to using technology responsibly, transparently, and with accountability. The Scottsdale Police Department continually evaluates how technology can improve the safety and service we provide to our community while protecting privacy, maintaining appropriate safeguards, and upholding the trust placed in us by the community.
Last Updated: Oct 8, 2026