Page 56 - Security Today, May/June 2019

Support Centers
improved community policing in cities around the world. And, in order to make it possible for smaller cities to build their own centers, Genetec is making this technology accessible at a cost that fits police departments’ budget.
Is an SDSC Right for Your Community?
In addition to increasing public safety through greater situational awareness and insight-driven decisions and planning, an SDSC also reduces response times, improves service from law enforce- ment, and increases public trust in local policing. SDSCs also can improve the efficiency of investigations, increase clearance rates, and support community involvement in the development of crime prevention strategies.
The first step in developing an SDSC is to unify and centralize your public safety operations and develop a common operating picture. A decision support system (DSS) that facilitates collaboration and con- nectivity between multiple systems, including Computer Aided Dis- patch (CAD), video surveillance, and record management, is crucial. With the right DSS, you can see the big picture and exchange relevant information with field personnel. This unified approach to public safety leads to proactive response and readiness, greater operational intelligence, and optimized resource management.
Effective and meaningful interagency collaboration is critical for maintaining public safety. By establishing an SDSC that allows for collaboration and sharing, you can centralize monitoring and draw on footage from disparate surveillance systems, including VMS and automatic license plate recognition (ALPR), to create a unified pic- ture of an incident.
To further promote agency sharing, it’s also important to ensure the privacy of individuals and protect sensitive data. When you al- low groups to maintain the autonomy of their systems and operations while sharing data, you can promote trust as you extend the reach of your investigations. Next, when it comes to a comprehensive urban safety strategy, you must ensure that stakeholders can work together. Public-private collaboration and community participation are key components for developing an effective SDSC.
You need to implement a framework that allows members of the community to work with public agencies towards common goals, in- cluding increased safety, greater economic growth, and improved op- erational efficiency. In addition to providing better situational aware- ness and augmenting transparency, implementing this framework can also increase business and tourism and improve services without negatively impacting your budget.
Five Steps to Improved Public Safety
Unify your operations. The first step in developing an SDSC is to unify and centralize your public safety operations and develop a common operating picture. A decision support system (DSS) that facilitates collaboration and connectivity between multiple systems, including CAD, video surveillance, and record management, is crucial. With the right DSS, you can see the big picture and exchange relevant in- formation with field personnel. This unified approach to public safety leads to proactive response and readiness, greater operational intel- ligence, and optimized resource management.
Implement a framework. Effective and meaningful interagency
collaboration is critical for maintaining public safety. By establishing an SDSC that allows for collaboration and sharing, you can centralize monitoring and draw on footage from disparate surveillance systems, including VMS and automatic license plate recognition (ALPR), to create a unified picture of an incident. To further promote agency sharing, you must also ensure privacy and protect sensitive data. When you allow groups to maintain the autonomy of their systems and operations while sharing data, you can promote trust as you ex- tend the reach of your investigations.
Collaborate with agencies. Next, when it comes to a comprehen- sive urban safety strategy, you must ensure that stakeholders can work together. Public-private collaboration and community partici- pation are key components for developing an effective SDSC. You need to implement a framework that allows members of the commu- nity to work with public agencies towards common goals, including increased safety, greater economic growth, and improved operational efficiency. In addition to providing better situational awareness and augmenting transparency, implementing this framework can also in- crease business and tourism and improve services without negatively impacting your budget.
Share information. With the increased amount of evidence being gathered by surveillance systems, body cameras, and civilians, your SDSC will require a digital evidence management system to simplify investigations and close cases. You must be able to securely gather evidence from all digital sources, including video footage uploaded by citizens, into a single system and then easily manage permissions. This will greatly reduce the time spent on labor-intensive tasks and allow you to securely share evidence both inside and outside of your organization with the click of a button.
Gather and store evidence. With the increased amount of evi- dence being gathered by surveillance systems, body cameras, and civilians, your SDSC will require a digital evidence management system to simplify investigations and close cases. You must be able to securely gather evidence from all digital sources, including video footage uploaded by citizens, into a single system and then easily manage permissions. This will greatly reduce the time spent on labor- intensive tasks and allow you to securely share evidence both inside and outside of your organization with the click of a button.
Choosing the Right Partner
is Critical for Success
To design a solution that address your unique needs, it’s important to choose a partner that can help you take your SDSC project from conception and design through to development and realization. So be sure to work with a partner that has proven experience working with police departments in both small and large metro areas.
It is important to choose a partner that can help you defend against cyber threats and protect everyone’s privacy with secure and compliant solutions. Pick a partner that incorporates multiple lines of defense to protect confidential information and sensitive data while also enhancing the security of any communication between systems and personnel in the field.
Giovanni Gaccione is the justice and public safety practice leader at Genetec Inc.
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GOVERNMENT SECURITY MAY/JUNE 2019