Orange County Sheriff's Department unveils state-of-the-art technology center

TUSTIN, Calif. (KABC) — Nestled in Tustin is an innovative new tool for the Orange County Sheriff's Department that will make them leaders in technology and public safety.

“We will have all five critical functions necessary for law enforcement and emergency response in one location,” said Sheriff Don Barnes.

The Sheriff's Department celebrated the grand opening of the OC Sheriff's Technology Center Thursday with a ribbon cutting.

“There is no model like this in the country,” Barnes said.

The 120,000 square foot facility will house the department's technology, operations support and intelligence as well as components of the special operations divisions.

“This combined synergy of these three separate units in one space will not only produce, but has already produced, a much safer Orange County,” the sheriff said.

The county purchased the building in June 2022.

The facility, including all structural, safety and technological improvements, cost $110 million.

The sheriff's office will be operational early next year and will be able to communicate with law enforcement in the event of a major emergency.

“An officer can change the channel and talk to all the peace officers in the county at the same time,” Sheriff Barnes said. “If you look at what happened at Parkland High School or Uvalde, where they didn’t have an interoperable system, it makes us a lot more efficient.”

The Real-Time Operations Center provides a new lifeline for agents and their needs.

“They can live stream that deputy’s body camera and see in real time what’s happening with that officer,” he said. “Do they need help? Do they need help? Wherever they are, they can coordinate units on their behalf.”

Additionally, the center can access community cameras to better respond to critical incidents.

“If there was an active shooter at a high school, rather than having to go looking for him, the individuals here could go into that school's camera system and say the individual is in the cafeteria,” Barnes said. “This is a game changer for us. Not only does it save lives, but it's also an opportunity to intervene more quickly, more appropriately and put a more immediate end to something.”

The facility offers large training and meeting rooms, a media briefing area and collaborative work spaces.

A future OCSD museum will be housed at the center.

The technology center helps the sheriff's department enter a new era in fighting crime.

The sheriff said the technology center has already become a national model for other agencies at the local, state and federal levels on how to combine resources under one roof to keep the community safe.