Page 22 - Campus Security & Life Safety, May/June 2019

geofencing
that are lost as you clarify your location and during transferred calls. This is a part of the challenge for PSAPs across the country, and also contributes to the estimated 10,000 deaths that occur each year due to a lack of quick and accurate location data received by these
dispatchers.
So, how do geofences fit into all of this?
Well, there are companies that create technology to help bridge this
communication gap existing between first responders and people in need, and many of these technologies include geofencing capabilities. For instance, a dispatcher or administrator at a PSAP that utilizes this technology could create a geofence by essentially drawing the geofence perimeter using the system’s user interface. In most cases, the user created geofence will determine the area of the PSAP’s terri-
tory (all areas that a PSAP can dispatch emergency services to). Paired with a mobile app, this technology can then determine if a caller needing emergency assistance is within the geofence, and ensure that their call (and potentially other important information, like a more accurate location) goes to the correct PSAP, reducing response times by allowing dispatchers to more quickly deploy
responders to the scene.
Location accuracy is also a big piece of this puzzle. The data
received by dispatchers from a geofenced emergency call can also include improved location accuracy, using GPS and WiFi, sent direct- ly to the dispatcher’s screen. This improved location (along with addi- tional, optional user entered info such as the full name of the app user, emergency contacts and a profile picture) can appear at the same time as a phone call from the person needing help, giving the dispatcher many more data points to help assist the caller.
Getting the correct data to the correct dispatcher in an emergency situation seems so very obviously helpful, but what about sending data out to the geofenced location?
This type of mass communication can be possible as well, usually reaching app users via push notification if they are within the geo- fenced area and a mass alert is sent out targeting that specific geofence.
The specific functionality of such a feature will vary depending on the technology provider.
Institution Benefits
Though geofences can be extremely effective for PSAPs in cities and counties, institutional settings (such as college campuses, healthcare facilities, businesses, K-12 schools, airports, etc.) often include a more engaged and connected community. These inclusive environ- ments help to protect themselves by being a hotbed for "word of mouth" communication. Also, students tend to listen closely to their teachers and employees listen to their employers (willingly or not). In doing so, teachers, employers, law enforcement/security officers and other leaders within these communities can more easily promote download and usage of software provided by these emergency com- munication companies, unlocking the potent power of geofence tech-
nology to protect them.
Within institutions, geofence creation and management is vital
because of the variety of resources and unique setups of the safety and security forces for each institution. Large colleges may have a similar setup as a city, with a well-staffed police force dedicated solely to responding to that specific community’s need, but many businesses, small colleges, and hospitals will have smaller teams tasked with pro- tection duties.
Which is why it’s crucial for geofence technology targeting these institutions to be easy to deploy and quick to manage.
Allowing system users to create multiple geofences to account for multiple campuses or off-site locations is key. Each geofence could then be assigned to a specific phone number and system user(s), ensuring that any emergency call goes directly to the person or team assigned to respond to that area. The process could get quite granular for institutions with many departments, buildings, and safety forces responsible for dispatching based on specific parameters.
Without a dedicated dispatch center, these institutions could still benefit from geofences depending on the technology’s capabilities. For instance, administrators may be able to assign groups that can receive valuable information (including an accurate location) via text when someone signals for emergency assistance within the geofence. Mean- while, the call itself can still go through to 911 as it normally would.
This feature could allow those receiving the text to respond quick- er to the scene than 911’s dispatched responders, which is great for safety forces and responders who may already be close to the scene but aren’t in constant contact with a dispatch center.
The Importance of Agile Geofences
A geofence’s agility is largely dependent on how the geofence is cre- ated, manipulated, hidden and maintained. Also, how does the geo- fence react to other geofences when the two overlap? Creating, manipulating and maintaining geofences should be easy and obvious for each system user with permission to do so (a good user interface will work wonders to help this cause). An interesting component of agile geofencing though is the ability to "toggle" the geofence on or off after creation. This flexibility is vital for many institutions, as there are certainly use cases for needing to temporarily activate or deacti- vate a geofence without deleting and recreating it each time.
Oklahoma State University (OSU) Police Chief Michael Robinson has often spoken about the significance of geofence agility during game days on campus.
"We can put a smaller geofence around the stadium and we operate a command post at the stadium that will allow us to direct calls within that area directly to the command post in the stadium,” Robinson said.
In Chief Robinson’s case, activating the stadium’s geofence on game days has major implications.
“We probably have as many or more people here just for that event as we do at any point in the fall semester,” Robinson said.
And when game day ends, the stadium geofence can be deacti- vated again.
Since OSU’s campus is protected by the same safety app year round (Orange Shield, provided by 911Cellular), a geofence surrounding the entire campus is always active and it sends the app’s emergency activations within it to campus police. When a smaller geofence is created within the larger campus geofence (like the stadium on game days), it will redirect emergency activations within the newly created geofence to a different dispatch center (the stadium command post).
The granularity can continue indefinitely. The important takeaway is that each institution should have phenomenal flexibility to create, manipulate, hide and maintain its geofences. Even if they are overlap- ping or placed within one another.
Todd Pazicni is the senior Marketing Manager at 911Cellular.
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campuslifesecurity.com | MAY/JUNE 2019