Only on WRAL: Rocky Mount's new police chief implementing new technology to fight crime

"The police can’t do this by themselves," said Rocky Mount Police Chief Robert Hassell. "We need to have that collaboration and those partnerships with our citizens."

Since officially taking office at the end of May, Hassell said he's been devoted to understanding his department and his new community.

"So far, I think things have been great," he said. "My transition into the department has been very welcoming. The staff is doing an excellent job bringing me up to speed about the capabilities of the department."

Along with a new police chief, the past six weeks have brought an uptick in gun violence in Rocky Mount, something that often happens in summer months. Many residents say it's left them feeling unsafe in their own homes.

Hassell said the process of trying to maintain public safety and trying to get out ahead of the violence is multi-faceted.

"I have four areas that we’re looking at to try to deal with violent crime and to be more proactive," he said.

Part of that strategy is the use of a full-time crime analyst who breaks down which parts of town are seeing more violence, as well as a new violent crime and gangs task force that aims to build a bridge with young people in Rocky Mount.

"If we can get them while they’re young, before they get entrenched into the gang life, I think [it] will be vitally important in helping us keep these individuals out of the gangs and hopefully reduce the level of violence gangs bring to our community," Hassell explained.

Along with that people-driven approach, Hassell is hoping to use some cutting-edge tools to take crime prevention a step further.

"We are looking at really two major tech projects coming up," he said. "Both are in their initial phase of implementation."

One of those projects is a new policing app called Atlas One, which was recently approved by the City Council. The app would allow police to send real-time updates on crimes to people living in neighborhoods in which the crimes are occurring.

"We feel that, when a citizen is aware of what’s going on, they can better protect themselves, prevent crime and make sure that they have the tools and resources they need to report incidents they may see going on in the community," Hassell said.

Hassell says he plans to release more details about the second technology project in the coming months.