School Emergency Screencast Application an "Eye Opener" for Emergency Dispatch

• NCJ Number: 249255
• Journal: Techbeat Dated: September/October 2015 Pages: 9-13
• Author(s): Becky Lewis
• Date Published: October 2015
• Length: 5 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2014-IJ-CX-K004
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Grant Sponsored); Program Description (Model)

Annotation

This article describes the features of an "app" that ties together a school's existing camera system, the city's fiber optic network, ultra high-speed bandwidth, and gunshot sensor technology to provide a live feed to emergency dispatch in the event of an active shooter incident in a school.

Abstract

This new technology was developed through a partnership that involved the city of Ammon, ID, Bonneville County, and Bonneville Joint School District 93. This technology project garnered a $75,000 award in the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Ultra-High Speed (UHS) Application Challenge. The short-term goal is to use the award money for the installation of a fully functional system throughout the test site of Sand Creek Middle School, as well as a long-term plan that will include the county's 22 schools and beyond. The concept of a network capable of instantly building a connection and providing bandwidth based on an automated trigger could, in addition, involve any number of future applications; for example, a trigger based on facial recognition or a trigger based on a crowd of people fleeing down a hallway. During the development phase, the project installed 11 sensors in Sand Creek Middle school, but approximately one-third of the school still lacks coverage. Some of the award money will be used to finish placing sensors throughout the facility.