Page 26 - Security Today, September 2020

Coordinating Emergency Communications
How IoT can drive efficiency and response By Kevin Taylor
One of the many lessons learned from the Smart Cit- ies movement is that you can achieve significant im- provement in community safety and resilience when you use network technologies to facilitate commu- nications and data sharing. Information gets to re- sponders more quickly and comprehensively which leads to more streamlined processes and better decision making in the field.
When walking through a modern Real Time Crime Center (RTCC), it is easy to become fixated on the huge video walls, workstations with elaborate dashboards, and images streaming into the center from cameras across the city. But the real value of these centers is not the eye-catching displays, it is the aggregation and efficient sharing of data with multiple stakeholders.
The data sources collected into the RTCC are not limited to cameras. You will also find information streaming in from other devices like license plate readers alerting when a registered stolen vehicle is detected, radar triggering notification of illegal trash dumping, and audio sensors detecting the discharge from a firearm.
All these data sources help operators in the center focus on areas where conditions indicate a likely negative outcome for the community. There are dynamic mapping applications assisting operators in geolocating events, technology assets and personnel in the field. The center might even be using analytics based on artificial intelligence to help compile raw data and quickly push critical information to responders.
The goal is to gather the most complete picture possible of what is happening on the streets of the city, so responders can work smarter – planning strategies on the way to a scene so they
“... the real value of these centers is not the eye-catching displays, it is the aggregation and efficient sharing of data with multiple stakeholders.”
can perform more effectively once they arrive.
“Aggregating all this technology into one system is an excep-
tional force multiplier. We’ve learned that the more situational awareness we can get to our responders the better for everyone,” said George Brown, IT/COMMS manager for the New Orleans Real Time Crime Center.
REDUCING REDUNDANCY WITH STREAMLINED WORKFLOW PROCESSES
This new operating model is a sharp contrast to how 911 calls were managed in the past. Previously, when a 911 call came into the Public Safety Access Point (PSAP), the operator would pass the call on to a dispatcher who would send an appropriate responder – po- lice, fire or medical – to the caller’s location. The information that reached the responder seldom contained more detail than the basic nature of the call. The inability to move data consistently through- out each step created knowledge gaps, requiring responders to re- collect data that was previously provided, but not transferred. With an RTCC solution, much of this redundant activity is eliminated.
Smart city solutions are built on scalable, open-standards plat- forms which allows them to accept data directly from other open-
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SMART CITIES
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