NCJ Number
220000
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 34 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2007 Pages: 92,94,101
Date Published
September 2007
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article describes the National Capital Region’s (NCR’s) emergency information enhancements through the grant supported Roam Secure Information Exchange (RSIX) and the Roam Secure Alert Network (RSAN).
Abstract
In a region where hundreds of agencies converge to do business, tourists flock to national monuments, and millions of people live and work, it seems public safety officials have answered the call for increased emergency information sharing to adequately inform the public of impending harm. The National Capital Region (Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia) utilizes the Roam Secure Information Exchange (RSIX) to exchange information and the Roam Secure Alert Network (RSAN) to alert citizens of critical information. RSIC is the first national exchange for emergency information where customers can share both public and private emergency information securely, reliably, and in real time. RSAN is an emergency communication system used by governments, emergency management agencies, and first responders to send emergency alerts, notifications, and updates to private citizens’ cell phones, pagers, Blackberrys, PDAs, and/or email accounts. This system began alerting capital district residents in 2002. The RSAN is also deployed in Philadelphia, PA, New Orleans, LA, Orange County, FL, and the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Today, Americans no longer rely on radio and television broadcasts to get information. They are choosing instead personal audio devices, such as iPods, the Internet, and cell phones. To reach a significant number of people in a given area information enhancements must take place which takes carefully coordinated plans, drills, spending, sharing, and implementation to achieve a cohesive interagency sharing platform and an effective public warning system.