Public Safety Requires an Ecosystem of Agencies and Technology
By: Kalyn Sims, CTO, Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial division
Public safety agencies face complex, unpredictable and often dangerous situations every day that require quick and effective response.
To adequately meet the needs of a community, it takes an ecosystem of agencies, all working together: police, fire and rescue, ambulance services, hospitals, mental health agencies, social services and more.
As the world becomes more automated, that ecosystem of agencies requires an even more complex and comprehensive ecosystem of technology.
Start at the core
The starting point is a computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system to deploy resources in an emergency. That CAD system serves as the core component to integrate any number of other applications and systems that public safety agencies need to carry out the mission.
For enhancing situational awareness and decision-making, agencies need immediate access to real-time information about the incident, the suspects, the victims and the surrounding environment. For that, the technology ecosystem can include sensors, cameras, drones, biometrics, geolocation, analytics and assistive artificial intelligence to sort through it all.
Better together
For situational awareness to be effective, it must be shared. A cloud-based collaboration platform can put all necessary stakeholders literally on the same page, expanding the net of security with mobile devices for responders in the field. These technologies can help public safety agencies share data, coordinate actions and leverage resources across different agencies and jurisdictions.
The public is also a key part of the technological ecosystem, with every smart phone and doorbell camera offering the potential to capture evidence or provide information in an emergency or investigation.
According to a recent report from the Public Safety Technology Initiative of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), “Whether it’s the technology utilized by the public to contact officials, or the systems local agencies use internally, the safety of the public is inextricably linked to the latest advances.” The report continues, “This is great news when considering the exciting possibilities in public safety technology the future will bring.”
Transparency brings trust
With the promise of more advances in data technology, public safety agencies need to maintain trust and legitimacy with the public and government oversight bodies. Toward that end, the ecosystem of technology in recent years has expanded to body-worn cameras, video analytics and digital evidence management, among others. These technologies can help public safety agencies capture, store, process, and share evidence securely and reliably.
The public also expects agencies to be as transparent with the data as possible without jeopardizing individual rights.
Says the IEEE report, “Creating systems that ethically and appropriately handle data is paramount to the success of our public safety ecosystems.”
Buy-in from communities and funding agencies is crucial to building a modern technology ecosystem to support public safety. IEEE recommends involving the public from the beginning through surveys, “face time” in the community, educational events and town halls and “open, two-way communication” regarding proposed changes.
Ecosystem evolution
Once a modernization plan is in place, that’s only the beginning. The ecosystem of public safety technology will continue to grow as innovation continues.
Cloud computing will continue to expand as a growing ecosystem pulls in more and more data from more and more sources. As that ocean of information continues to expand, assistive AI and video analytics, and perhaps innovations not yet imagined, will become more powerful and more necessary to keep public safety staff from drowning in data.
“Each day, the development of new technology opens doors and ushers in fresh possibilities,” concludes the IEEE report.
