Serving a population of more than 108,000 people, Centennial’s TMC ensures smooth traffic flow, supports city operations such as snow management and engages the public with initiatives including Centennial 101, which provides residents with a behind-the- scenes look at city departments.

In August 2023, Centennial installed RGB Spectrum’s Galileo video wall processor to address its operational needs. The city sought a solution that would enable operators to monitor live feeds from 60 CCTV cameras, improve situational awareness and facilitate content management for real-time operations and training purposes.

The Challenge

Centennial’s Traffic Management Center required a reliable, flexible system capable of displaying numerous video streams simultaneously. Operators needed the ability to monitor critical intersections and road conditions in real time.

Beyond daily operations, the TMC needed a tool to support public presentations and internal reviews, offering intuitive control of the video wall through a desktop interface.

Planning for the new operational center began in 2021. After evaluating various options, Centennial chose to follow the example of neighboring Douglas County, which had successfully implemented RGB Spectrum’s Galileo system in its TMC. This decision was influenced by positive feedback on Galileo’s reliability, flexibility, and performance.

The city collaborated with the Momentum Group, a manufacturer’s representative firm in the Rocky Mountain region, to provide service and support throughout the project.

Why Centennial Chose RGB Spectrum Galileo

RGB Spectrum’s Galileo video wall processor met Centennial’s needs on multiple fronts. It offered a seamless solution for monitoring multiple video streams in real time and allowed operators to move content effortlessly between a desktop interface and the video wall.

The city appreciated Galileo’s design, which ensures 24/7 reliability, and its scalability to accommodate future operational growth.

“We really liked that Douglas County uses Galileo and has been happy with it,” says traffic management center operator Libby Nordeen. It made sense for us … to align with our region and ensure seamless communication with other jurisdictions.”

How the City of Centennial Uses Galileo

At the heart of Centennial’s TMC is RGB Spectrum’s Galileo processor, which powers a Planar display that showcases live video feeds from 60 CCTV cameras. Operators, including Nordeen and her team, use the system daily to monitor traffic conditions and enhance citywide situational awareness.

This capability has been especially beneficial during inclement weather, allowing snow crews to assess road conditions and prioritize their efforts using live video feeds.

The Galileo processor also supports Centennial’s broader goals of public engagement and education. During events like Centennial 101, a program designed to familiarize residents with city operations, the TMC uses the video wall to demonstrate how the department monitors traffic and supports real-time operations.

The ability to move content from the desktop to the video wall enables operators to create dynamic and engaging presentations for visitors and city officials alike.

Looking ahead, Centennial plans to expand the TMC’s capabilities to include enhanced incident management and greater system-to-system communication with neighboring jurisdictions such as Englewood, Greenwood Village and Littleton, all of which use the same traffic signal platform.

Results and Benefits

Since installing RGB Spectrum’s Galileo video wall processor, the City of Centennial operators now benefit from enhanced situational awareness and streamlined decision-making in their traffic monitoring.

Galileo’s integration with desktop control has simplified workflows, enabling more efficient management of daily monitoring and presentations.

“We’ve been very happy with the system reliability and functionality,” says Nordeen. “Galileo allows us to monitor real-time traffic and engage with the public—all in one powerful platform.”

As Centennial expands its capabilities to include incident management and regional collaboration, the Galileo processor will continue to be a cornerstone of efficient traffic monitoring and control.

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This new resource, Smarter, Stronger Property Management: The Edge AI in Transforming Property Surveillance, explores the key challenges in property management and how AI-powered cloud surveillance is reshaping security operations. Topics include:

• The Game-Changer Surveillance Providers Needed
• Industry-Focused Tailored Surveillance Solutions
• De-stressing IT with Easy Setup

Get your free copy today and learn how this emerging technology can help automate routine tasks, provide instant access to critical footage, and unlock proactive threat detection for your clients.

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Fenton is a city with about 12,000 permanent residents, but Chief of Police Jeffery Cross estimates 60,000 people come through the community daily. Located off Highway US-23, Fenton is a popular shopping and restaurant district for commuters and people from neighboring cities.

Unfortunately, retail criminals also come to Fenton regularly. The new video surveillance system is designed to deter, detect and apprehend retail criminals.

Housed in a weatherproof cabinet and mounted on a telephone pole with two cameras, the new system includes Eagle Eye Networks 911 Camera Sharing technology that gives Fenton’s 911 dispatch professionals immediate access to view live security camera footage during an 911 emergency through a partnership with RapidSOS.

Why Fenton Police Relied on Eagle Eye Video Surveillance

“With 911 Camera Sharing, the 911 operator can see the situation as it unfolds and give law enforcement direct, quality information and immediate feedback about what happened, and what direction the suspect is headed in,” says Cross. “That enhances safety for first responders and our community.”

In addition, the security cameras have built-in AI-powered Eagle Eye Smart Video Search, which enables Fenton’s authorized law enforcement officials to search security camera footage for vehicles, people or objects of interest.

“With Smart Video Search, you can search for a ‘person wearing a red shirt and black pants,’ a ‘blue Honda truck’ or ‘person with backpack’ and quickly find a shoplifting suspect or determine when a certain vehicle, person, or group of people entered a shopping center parking lot, which can be critical information for law enforcement,” says Joe Bommarito of Elite Fire Safety, a division of Sciens Building Solutions, a Novi, Mich.-based security integrator working with the City of Fenton on the project.

“Fenton’s new system with 911 Camera Sharing and AI features such as Smart Video Search is like having a virtual patrol in the Fenton business district,” he says.

“Last month the National Retail Federation reported a 93% increase in the average number of shoplifting incidents per year in 2023 versus 2019 and a 90% increase in dollar loss,” says Dean Drako, CEO of Eagle Eye Networks. “AI-powered video surveillance can now be deployed in more areas than ever, offering communities new ways to contend with rising retail crime.”

The post Fenton Fights Retail Crime with AI-Powered Video Surveillance and 911 Camera Sharing appeared first on Security Sales & Integration.

The security challenges onboard cruise ships with up to 5,000 passengers are huge, and Secure Redact “has proven to be highly effective in maintaining passenger privacy during video surveillance,” according to the company announcement.

Secure Redact automatically blurs personal and sensitive data in captured and live security videos. This enables organizations such as CCOM Global Technologies to handle footage from CCTV by protecting and redacting personal data, such as faces, and automatically redacting and anonymizing the information, 200 times faster than traditional video editing services.

Pimloc has developed AI solutions trained to perform on real-world security footage through its Secure Redact platform to automatically protect personal data in images and video. The technology can be deployed selectively, so it can remove some or all faces or other identifying information.

Video clips that have been selectively anonymized with Secure Redact can be supplied externally, while staying compliant with data privacy laws and regulations.

Why CCOM Global Teamed with Pimloc

“When we are looking at security challenges, we have thousands of people that we need to keep safe and secure, maintaining their well-being,” says Daniel Ginat, director of technology at CCOM Global Technologies. “It’s a small town, or a Vegas scale of hotel, with hundreds and hundreds of CCTV cameras.

“Privacy, as well as security, is key, and Secure Redact helps us to deal with security issues for our clients, while effectively keeping bystanders and other innocents out of the picture,” he says.

Secure Redact automatically processes and ingests any uploaded video from CCOM Global Technologies’ CCTV footage onboard the ship, before reformatting it and running machine learning algorithms over each frame to detect all faces.

These detections are then marked for redaction as orange boxes on the video, and are only viewable by CCOM Global Technologies operatives, who review the results, before Secure Redact creates the final redacted video for download by blurring all the detected personal data, ready for export and delivery to their cruise liner client.

“We’re delighted to be helping CCOM Global Technologies to maintain privacy during cruise ship video surveillance,” says Pimloc CEO Simon Randall. “We’re enabling cruise liners to supply video clips externally as needed – to employees, customers, or even corporate insurance companies, law enforcement and lawyers – all while staying compliant with data privacy laws and regulations.”

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This new, tailored solution “will help the venue augment its security capabilities, providing high-quality video at unprecedented distances and allowing the security team to identify details from anywhere in the venue,” according to the joint announcement.

“As one of the world’s largest stadiums, the safety of fans is our number one priority,” says Danny DeLorenzi, vice president of security and safety services at MetLife Stadium. “Unfortunately, none of the out-of-the-box solutions we tried could provide the desired coverage at the video quality we were looking for.

“Axis worked with us to build a custom solution where our needs were taken into consideration from the concept phase all the way through implementation. The result was an innovative new camera capable of providing full visibility throughout the entire bowl of the stadium while also allowing us to take advantage of advanced video analytics solutions,” he says.

Why MetLife Stadium Security Teamed with Axis

MetLife Stadium regularly hosts events ranging from concerts to National Football League games (New York Giants and New York Jets)—and the venue has been at the forefront of stadium security since it was built. The stadium is consistently rated one of the safest in the NFL, and in 2013 it was the first NFL stadium to achieve SAFETY Act certification from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The facility has twice been named a Facility of Merit by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS⁴) and has “established a reputation for implementing modern security solutions,” according to the announcement. MetLife Stadium’s security team worked directly with Axis on a device tailored to the venue’s unique needs.

“MetLife Stadium has always been committed to strong security, and it holds its partners to a very high standard,” says Fredrik Nilsson, vice president of Axis Communications, in the announcement. “When the security team explained to us that they were having a hard time finding an off-the-shelf device that met their needs, we viewed it as an opportunity to innovate and design a more tailored solution.

“As a result, the MetLife Stadium security team will be well-positioned to detect, investigate, and respond to any security challenges that come its way,” he says.

The new device includes a number of features specifically tailored to improve performance in a stadium setting. It provides optimal performance in a variety of lighting conditions and electronic image stabilization (EIS) capabilities that help keep the image steady even amid the crowds and turbulent weather of an open-air stadium.

It also features a custom-made lens that enables 8K resolution and is capable of recording images in a wide dynamic range, capturing a spectrum of colors in high-contrast video. Because the camera can more accurately identify and catalogue identifying features it is able to run more advanced and complex video analytics.

The device enables compatibility with the pressed concrete structure’s existing camera mounts. Additionally, MetLife Stadium ensured the device could be integrated with the venue’s current security stack, including its video management system (VMS), technology partners and local public safety agencies.

With the new surveillance solution in place, MetLife Stadium’s security capabilities “are more advanced than ever,” but the security team is already planning for new enhancements. Venue officials are working to identify ways to leverage the devices to enhance security while also exploring different video analytics solutions.

The ultimate goal is to “not just improve security but streamline entry to the stadium, create easier access to amenities, and improve staffing efficiency.”

MetLife Stadium, one of the largest stadiums in the NFL with a capacity of 82,500, will host the FIFA World Cup 26™ Final and seven other matches throughout the tournament. The venue annually ranks as one of the busiest stadiums in the world and has been named “Highest Grossing Stadium of the Year” nine times by Billboard.

Event highlights include Super Bowl XLVIII, NHL Stadium Series, WrestleMania, Copa America Centenario Final, 2021 Army-Navy Game and many concerts, college football games and international soccer matches.

The post MetLife Stadium Reinforces Commitment to Security with Axis Communications Solution appeared first on Security Sales & Integration.

Muhammad Ali International Airport serves more than 4.6 million passengers annually and processes more than six billion pounds of cargo through the UPS Worldport, the center point of their worldwide air network and the largest automated package handling facility in the world.

As part of its SDF Next Program, a $500 million capital improvement initiative, the airport built a new state-of-the-art command center, where a dedicated team oversees everything from airport operations and employee badging to physical security.

Creating a Unified Airport Operations Center

“We wanted to design an airport operations center (AOC) and choose advanced technology that would bring information to us,” says Megan Thoben, vice president of operations and customer engagement at Louisville Regional Airport Authority.

“Ultimately, we needed solutions that gave our specialists a more cohesive, data-driven experience while overseeing badging, security, and airside and landside operations,” she says.

The Genetec Security Center platform “brings multiple security and airport-specific technologies into one intuitive experience with the option to add new integrations over time” according to the company announcement. Operators can work from one centralized view to respond to incidents, handle badging tasks, and collect valuable business insights.

Photo courtesy of Genetec

Addressing Muhammad Ali Airport Baggage Claim Delays

One of the first challenges SDF addressed using Genetec Security Center was recurring baggage claim delays. By integrating their flight information display system (FIDS) with the Genetec Airport Operations Module (AOM), SDF can now track when a plane reaches the gate and when the baggage handler swipes their card at the carousel.

“If more than 30 minutes pass between the plane’s arrival and the badge scan, we get an alert and can dispatch our team to address the issue,” says Thoben. This data not only reduces delays, but it also provides airlines with insights to adjust their staffing and operations.

Future Plans of Expanding Coverage

As SDF continues to modernize, the airport is looking to extend security coverage to Bowman Field (LOU), a smaller, general aviation-reliever airport nearby, using Genetec Security Center SaaS. The cloud-based platform will allow SDF to manage both sites from a single system, minimizing infrastructure costs while ensuring comprehensive security monitoring.

“I challenge other airports to think more broadly about what they can do with the systems they already have in place,” says Thoben. “There’s so much data that we’re collecting, so how can we use that to get a fuller picture of what’s happening across our airports? We’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible.”

The post Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport Transforms Operations Using Data appeared first on Security Sales & Integration.

ZeroEyes’ AI gun detection and intelligent situational awareness software layers onto existing digital security cameras. If a gun is identified, images are instantly shared with the ZeroEyes Operations Center (ZOC), the industry’s only U.S.-based, fully in-house operation center, which is staffed 24/7/365 by specially trained military and law enforcement veterans.

If these experts determine that the threat is valid, they dispatch alerts and actionable intelligence — including visual description, gun type, and last known location — to local law enforcement and school staff as quickly as three to five seconds from detection.

“Our goal is to provide unmatched situational awareness to help protect students and staff in schools,” says Mike Lahiff, CEO and co-founder of ZeroEyes. “Our partnership with GeoComm ensures that responders know exactly where a threat is located, down to the specific room number, significantly improving response times and coordination during critical incidents.”

Why Iowa K-12 Schools Chose ZeroEyes and GeoComm

As GeoComm has done for nearly three decades with outdoor public safety-grade maps, the company has digitally mapped all K-12 schools in Iowa, including detailed points of interest such as fire extinguishers and automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

When ZeroEyes’ AI detects a weapon, the system is now enhanced with GeoComm’s indoor maps showing the precise location within the building as well as room-level details. This integration is “critical for providing first responders with the situational awareness needed for rapid and effective response, even in complex, multi-floor buildings.”

“We are proud to partner with ZeroEyes in this crucial effort to enhance school safety. By integrating our indoor mapping solution with ZeroEyes’ advanced AI gun detection technology, we are delivering unparalleled situational awareness and real-time intelligence,” says Jeff Liebl, CEO of GeoComm.

“This collaboration ensures that emergency responders have the precise information needed to act swiftly and effectively, safeguarding our children with the highest level of preparedness and precision,” he says.

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This new whitepaper, Next-Gen Retail Revolution: The Power of Edge AI and Cloud Surveillance, discusses the future of AI surveillance. From reducing false alarms to improving staff efficiency, these advanced systems offer benefits that go far beyond theft prevention. Topics include:

• Why Businesses Need Smarter AI Surveillance for Retail Success
• The Perils of Outdated Surveillance in Modern Retail
• A Leap Toward AI-Driven Retail Management
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Download your free copy today and help your retail clients safeguard and streamline their operations.

The post Next-Gen Retail Revolution: The Power of Edge AI and Cloud Surveillance appeared first on Security Sales & Integration.

The new video solution observes the vehicle’s environment from multiple viewpoints to provide officers with “real-time awareness of their surroundings, while capturing video evidence that can provide accurate incident documentation to aid investigations,” the Motorola announcement says.

“Police officers face unpredictable challenges and fast-moving events every day,” says Chris Hardy, chief superintendent for Lancashire Police. “The ability to respond quickly is paramount. The Motorola Solutions M500 can live-stream video back to the control room, enabling our team to build a clear picture of unfolding events by giving us eyes on the scene.

“It is a highly configurable, easy-to-use system that can automate processes such as triggering video recording when the blue lights are activated, helping officers to focus on the job at hand,” he says.

Lancashire Police has made a number of recent investments in new technological and organizational capabilities. Since its establishment in June 2023, Lancashire Police’s Roads Crime Team and Roads Policing Unit, with support from wider police departments in the county, “has been integral to efforts to locate and recover vehicles and assist with road traffic collisions.”

Why Lancashire Police Chose Motorola M500

The deployment of the M500 in-car video solution will provide frontline officers with an additional tool “to help fulfill its priority of making the roads safer for the community.”

The M500’s interface is designed to be intuitive for officers to operate in demanding situations. Video captured is automatically uploaded to the Motorola Solutions VideoManager for secure, auditable storage that is intelligently organized.

Recorded footage is tracked and audited to protect the chain of custody so that the police, public and judicial systems can be confident in the integrity of video evidence. VideoManager’s consolidated incident overview also “helps to ensure that incident information, including footage recorded by the M500, as well as Lancashire Police’s body cameras, can be easily viewed from one location.”

“Video security solutions are a vital tool for police officers as they work to help keep their communities safe,” says Fergus Mayne, U.K. and Ireland country manager, Motorola Solutions. “As part of the Motorola Solutions safety and security ecosystem, the M500 connects with Lancashire Police’s existing mission-critical technologies, providing productivity and agility to the forces operational response to help protect people, property and places.”

Motorola Solutions has been trusted by Lancashire Police throughout its digital transformation, supporting the force’s evidence capture, data storage and workflow efficiency. The M500 will complement the force’s existing technology infrastructure which includes Motorola Solutions’ Pronto Digital Policing application, TETRA radios and VB400 body cameras.

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BMA’s steady growth “is a testament to its focus on building trust with its shoppers, employees, suppliers and stakeholders to create a company that is people-centric, ambitious and results-oriented,” the company announcement says.

Meeting the Challenge

Fraud is a common problem in the retail sector, particularly within large chains with hundreds of locations and tens of thousands of employees. BMA’s retail stores were no exception.

Following an internal audit, security of point-of-sale (POS) terminals in retail outlets were identified as a serious concern, particularly the misuse of floor supervisors’ credentials to access terminals and modify or cancel transactions.

The problem persisted even after BMA International switched from passwords to a smart card-based
authentication system.

The most common issues involved supervisors leaving smart cards with cashiers to use in their absence and failing to return the cards when a separation from an employer occurs — a frequent occurrence as many of BMA’s retail employees are expatriates who often return to their home countries.

Fraudulent use of the smart card was also a common problem. Once a sale was completed and the customer had left the store with their purchased items, the smart card could be used to improperly access the system so the cashier could void the transaction and pocket the “refund,” resulting in both monetary and inventory losses.

“BMA’s internal auditors were concerned with the lack of control over the cards and the potential for fraudulent transactions due to their mishandling,” says Nainan M. Kurian, CEO of Technowave International LLC.

“They observed clear gaps in security and authentication practices that led directly to fraud and revenue leakage, resulting in the Internal Audit Committee recommending to the BMA Board of Directors that action be taken to plug the security holes by tightening the authentication process,” he says.

BMA International made the decision to transition authentication to a biometric-based system that would provide the required security at a competitive price which aligned with the aesthetics of the retail stores.

The system also needed to be compatible with the Oracle Retail Xstore Office Cloud Service, which BMA International was adopting across its brands.

Crafting the BMA International Solution

BMA International and its technology partner, Technowave International LLC, determined that the HID DigitalPersona 4500 fingerprint reader met all their requirements — a decision supported by recommendations from other retailers that had deployed the product, and by the fact that competitive solutions were incompatible with Oracle Retail Xstore, a crucial requirement.

A USB peripheral with a compact design to conserve space, this fingerprint reader from HID is ideal for use by multiple people in a shared environment. Its professional, modern design looks elegant in retail settings while offering superior authentication control via biometric functionality that uses optical
scanning technology to achieve excellent image quality and reliability.

Floor supervisors simply place their fingers on the reader window, which captures and encrypts the fingerprint image, then provides a red flash as a visual cue indicating that it was properly captured.

That image is sent to the DigitalPersona FingerJet biometric engine for verification, and once the user has been authenticated, access to the POS terminal is granted.

“Deploying the HID DigitalPersona 4500 Fingerprint Reader was simple and caused no disruption to retail operations,” says Kurian. “It paved the way for significant reduction in the malpractice that had been occurring with the smart card system.”

Result

Since deploying more than 1,100 HID fingerprint readers in retail outlets across KSA, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, BMA has eliminated nearly all POS fraud and abuse. The system has also driven tangible improvements in the attendance and punctuality of floor supervisors, who must now be physically present in the store for authentication to take place.

The HID authentication system is also capable of multiple types of authentications — providing flexibility that is appreciated by users who work at multiple locations.

“Because the HID DigitalPersona 4500 Fingerprint Reader requires proof of presence for authentication, there is greater accountability among supervisors which resulted in immediate cessation of POS fraud and stopped both revenue and inventory leakage,” says Kurian.

“The exceptional support provided by HID Global has also allowed BMA to take full advantage of the system’s functionality and flexibility,” he says.

The post BMA International Taps Optical Fingerprint Readers to End Point-of-Sale Fraud appeared first on Security Sales & Integration.

Hackensack Meridian Health, the largest not-for-profit healthcare network in New Jersey, delivers integrated care through 18 hospitals and more than 500 locations, including ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities.

Offering a range of services from urgent care and physician practices to ambulance services and life-saving air medical transport, the network is “dedicated to meeting the diverse needs of its patients.”

Recently, two of its hospitals were ranked among New Jersey’s Top 10 Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. Furthering its “commitment to innovation and security,” Hackensack Meridian Health has deployed ZeroEyes to enhance the safety of its 36,000 employees, 7,000 physicians and 2 million patients annually.

Why Hackensack Meridian Health Chose ZeroEyes

“Hackensack Meridian Health is committed to the safety and security of our team members, patients, visitors, and guests,” says Jill Hodge, vice president and chief safety leader at Hackensack Meridian Health Network. “Therefore, we have prioritized the development of ZeroEyes as a proactive measure to promote a safe work environment.”

ZeroEyes’ HIPAA-compliant artificial intelligence gun detection and intelligent situational awareness software layers onto existing digital security cameras. If a gun is identified, images are instantly shared with the ZeroEyes Operations Center (ZOC), the industry’s only U.S.-based, fully in-house operation center, which is staffed 24/7/365 by specially trained U.S. military and law enforcement veterans.

If these experts determine that the threat is valid, they dispatch alerts and actionable intelligence — including visual description, gun type, and last known location — to local law enforcement and HMH staff as quickly as 3 to 5 seconds from detection.

“Hospitals must remain accessible to visitors, so they are continually confronted with security challenges,” says Mike Lahiff, CEO and co-founder of ZeroEyes. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be deployed at New Jersey’s largest hospital network, helping to ensure a safe and secure environment free of gun-related violence.”

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Under this partnership, residents of Colchester “benefit from Essence SmartCare products, equipped with advanced connectivity to ensure a seamless transition for the analogue to digital switchover,” according to the announcement.

Colchester City Council was also provided with trial equipment, staff training, and technical support to maintain the products helping seniors age in place safely.

The transition from analog to digital telecommunications infrastructure in the U.K. was threatening the safety of approximately 1,700 Colchester seniors using analog telecare systems.

Tasked with securing telecare availability for the city’s seniors, Colchester City Council selected Essence SmartCare to provide digital connectivity options to local seniors to ensure that their safety wouldn’t be compromised as technology shifts.

Why Colchester City Council Chose Essence SmartCare

By equipping Colchester with an advanced digital alarm service, Essence SmartCare not only enabled the senior population to continue to live safely at home with continuous monitoring, but also provided an improved experience with personalized support and wider range of functionality than analog systems.

“Digital transformation has the potential to improve health care across the board but it cannot leave our most vulnerable population behind,” says Karin Schifter-Maor, CEO of Essence SmartCare. “As the digital switchover sweeps across the U.K., Essence SmartCare is committed to ensuring seniors’ ability to stay safe and connected at all times.

“We are honored to be part of this important transition, ensuring that every senior in the community has the reliable, personalized support they need to safely and confidently age in place,” she says.

Essence’s Care@Home platform is an aging-in-place platform with an integrated suite of services, including compact waterproof telecare devices designed as jewelry, an emergency panic button, voice activation and a voice extender.

The Essence voice extender allows seniors to make two-way calls from any room in the home, providing a vital communication link even when the panic button is out of reach. Using a rules-based approach, Care@Home notifies caregivers of deviations in daily routine to preempt potential issues and provide seniors with personalized care.

“With Essence SmartCare, our top priority remains the residents of Colchester,” said Colchester City Council. “Together, we prioritise their well-being and safety, ensuring they receive the highest quality of service. Through our partnership, we extend a guiding hand to navigate this transition, always with the needs of our community at the forefront.”

The post Colchester City Council Offer Seniors Advanced Digital Telecare Solutions  appeared first on Security Sales & Integration.

Many proponents of these detection devices also say they deter violence and bolster perceptions that a campus is safe.

However, critics of these screening systems in schools argue the equipment sends the wrong message and discriminate against students of color. The cost of purchasing, running, and maintaining this technology is another major factor, with critics saying the money dedicated to weapons detection should instead be used for things like student mental health services.

Despite the reservations of critics, the high rate of gun violence in America has prompted many K-12 school districts to make the investment in weapons detection.

More than half of the K-12 respondents to Campus Safety’s 2024 Weapons, Metal, and Gunshot Detection Survey said their campuses use sensors in walk-through or hand-held detectors, and 24% use video to help them screen for guns, knives, and other weapons.

Mesa High School in Arizona recently installed a weapons detection system, only to have it find a gun in a student’s backpack a mere 20 minutes after the installation was completed, reports 12News.

“He didn’t resist and when he opened it up, I saw the look on his face, and then I looked in there and the school resource officer saw the look on my face,” Mesa High School Director of School Safety and Security Allen Moore told the news station. “Next thing you know, they placed the kid into custody immediately.”

Weapons Detection Tech at U.S. School Districts

Mesa High was just one of many K-12 campuses in Maricopa County that have bolstered security measures. At least 114 firearms have been found on school campuses in the county since 2019, and 12News speculates the actual number is much higher because Arizona doesn’t track the number of gun seizures at schools.

It’s not just Arizona that is implementing weapons detection. In New York, the Schenectady Board of Education has just approved a resolution to provide weapons detection measures for the district’s schools, reports News10. The Greater Amsterdam School District already used metal detectors and recently made some upgrades.

In Connecticut, the Consolidated School District of New Britain is surveying residents about the installation of metal detectors on campus, reports Fox61.

In Pennsylvania, the district in Upper Darby Township recently approved the use of weapons detection systems at its high schools and middle schools, reports Fox29. The cost to install the systems will be more than $1 million, reports CBS News.

In Georgia, Gwinnett County Public Schools just introduced a new weapons detection system for its football games, reports the Gwinnett Daily Post.

In North Carolina, Cumberland County will be installing a non-invasive weapons detection system at all of its middle schools and high schools, reports WRAL. The equipment will be set up at entrances for daily screenings, as well as at athletic events and other events that draw large crows.

The post Arizona High School Installs Weapons Detection, Finds Gun 20 Minutes Later appeared first on Security Sales & Integration.

At the core of the RTCC is RGB Spectrum’s Zio W4000 video wall processor.  The feature-rich Zio W4000 supports 4K 60Hz resolution end-to-end and accommodates a mix of local baseband, IP video, and web-based inputs.

The processor aggregates video and critical data from all sources for display on a Samsung 140-inch, all-in-one LED screen, ensuring operators have a clear and comprehensive view of the city’s surveillance feeds.

“With state-of-the-art technology, including sound and enhanced vehicle and person identification, the new systems have already helped solve crime in the area,” said Captain Leland Laseter of the New Iberia Police Department.

RGB Spectrum Backs New Iberia Police Department

Supported by $1.6 million in state funding, NIPD plans to deploy nearly 500 advanced surveillance cameras across 125 locations, creating a safer environment for residents. The strategic placement of these cameras, with each location featuring four devices, will deliver a 360-degree view of key areas, significantly enhancing the department’s ability to monitor and respond to crime effectively.

These feeds will be available on the video wall to provide decision-makers with enhanced situational awareness.

The New Iberia Police Department is “committed to leveraging innovative technology to strengthen community safety,” the announcement says. “It sets a benchmark for modern policing in Louisiana.”

The integration of RGB Spectrum’s advanced visualization and control solutions represents a significant step toward, creating a safer community for New Iberia residents.

The post New Iberia Police Department Uses State-of-the-Art Tech to Build Real-Time Crime Center appeared first on Security Sales & Integration.

The upgrades include the installation of more than 1,000 new security cameras in high traffic outdoor areas, as well as at all building entrances and exits.

The video surveillance project follows the installation of call boxes in 2022 and an upgrade to Liberty University’s emergency operations and dispatch center in 2023, according to the school.

OSPS determined the camera locations by working closely with other departments on campus to evaluate crime data and crime prevention. Many of the cameras include facial recognition features, license plate readers, and other advanced detection features that will assist OSPS in identifying suspects and stolen vehicles. The manufacturer of the cameras is Avigilon, and each unit cost about $1,000.

In phases two and three, OSPS will focus on installing cameras near “commonly traversed outdoor and interior corridors, hallways, campus entrances, and garage spaces.” Liberty University estimates the project will be completed in two years or less.

Liberty: $12M on Security Cameras, Other Improvements

The school says it has spent more than $10 million in the past two years on upgrades to ensure safety and security on campus.

Additionally, it will be spending $2 million more on new initiatives, which are required as a result of the U.S. Department of Education’s investigation that found Liberty University violated the Clery Act and harmed sexual assault victims.

As a result of the Clery Act violations, the school was fined a record $14 million this spring.

Other safety measures being implemented by Liberty University include electric scooters, skateboard locks, ballistic laminate, improved lighting, enhanced crime reporting software, and a safety app.

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This marks the first private healthcare practice to adopt ZeroEyes’ proactive security technology, the company says.

With the rise of gun-related workplace violence in the United States, healthcare facilities face growing security challenges. While they must remain accessible to visitors and new patients, this open-door policy increases the risk of violence.

Lane Dermatology & Dermatologic Surgery is “proactively addressing these threats by enhancing its security systems with ZeroEyes.” By adopting the technology, the practice “ensures preparedness for active shooter scenarios, providing an additional layer of protection while maintaining a welcoming environment.”

Why Lane Dermatology Chose ZeroEyes

“Having a background in counterterrorism and disaster medicine, along with my experience as a flight surgeon in the Air Force, I understand the critical importance of being prepared for active shooter scenarios,” says Dr. Joshua E. Lane, co-founder of Lane Dermatology & Dermatologic Surgery.

“As a small business, we are implementing ZeroEyes’ technology because it buys valuable time for survival during such incidents,” he says. “With ZeroEyes, we hope to set a new security standard for healthcare facilities across the country.”

Lane Dermatology & Dermatologic Surgery was founded in 2007 by Drs. Joshua and Tanda Lane and is a full-service dermatology, dermatologic surgery and aesthetics practice. The facility focuses on medical and surgical care of the skin, as well as laser and aesthetic enhancements.

Both doctors are board-certified by the American Academy of Dermatology, and Dr. Joshua Lane is the only fellowship-trained Mohs micrographic and reconstructive surgeon in the city.

ZeroEyes’ AI gun detection and intelligent situational awareness software is layered on existing digital security cameras. If a gun is identified, images will instantly be shared with the ZeroEyes Operations Center (ZOC), the industry’s only U.S.-based, fully in-house operation center, which is staffed 24/7/365 by specially trained U.S. military and law enforcement veterans.

If these experts determine that the threat is valid, they will dispatch alerts and actionable intelligence, including visual description, gun type, and last known location, to law enforcement and local staff as quickly as 3 to 5 seconds from detection.

“Private healthcare practices often face significant financial constraints when it comes to implementing security measures,” says Mike Lahiff, CEO and co-founder of ZeroEyes. “ZeroEyes serves as a valuable force multiplier, allowing facilities to reduce costs on security personnel while maintaining effective monitoring.

“Lane Dermatology & Dermatologic Surgery has demonstrated a forward-thinking approach to healthcare security, and we hope other facilities will follow their lead,” he says.

The post Lane Dermatology & Dermatologic Surgery Deploys AI-Based Gun Detection appeared first on Security Sales & Integration.

SSI’s 2024 Global Security Operations Centers Deep Dive report draws on our own research and industry experts to illuminate the changing face of mission-critical environments and their evolving needs. This new report examines the latest trends in this space plus offers perspectives from recognized experts in mission-critical operations. Topics include:

• Consolidating distributed SOCs into GSOC environments
• Financial considerations of command-and-control room systems
• A look ahead at GSOC business growth
• Integrators’ role in designing and implementing security operations centers

Download your free copy of SSI’s latest research report today!

The post SSI’s 2024 Global Security Operations Centers Report appeared first on Security Sales & Integration.

For those who enjoy sci-fi movies, we may have to wait a while until biometrics are the industry standard across the access control space, but we’re moving further away from the days when every key needed for every door throughout the building were collected on a single key ring.

Ross Samek, vice president for Hawkeye Alarm, a physical security life safety integrator with about 20 employees, based in Waterloo, Iowa, says access control goes hand in hand with its other major components, commercial fire systems and video surveillance.

“I think, in the last few years, when a new building is built, access control is included in the design phase, especially in the education vertical market,” he says. “It’s definitely changed from the days of ‘we had something happen and now we need to come up with a better system of security.’ It’s definitely more on the front burner of the building designers and building management.”

Steve Capogna, owner of Alarmingly Affordable in Staten Island, N.Y., says access control is about 20% to 25% of the company’s business and they are moving further into the cloud access control market with their almost 13,000 customers in the greater New York area.

“It started out that I was going to use cloud-based for my under-16-door systems, but we’ve recently done 100-plus systems and we’ll be doing even larger ones,” he says. “We’ve got the cloud-based takeover down to a science now, where we build in-house, and we roll it out.”

“We maintain two databases for the duration of the takeover, which could take as long as two weeks, and the client is very happy. They’re never down for more than a few hours per reader, per panel. Cloud-based systems put the control in the palm of your hand,” says Capogna.

More from the Access Control Experts

Exton, Pa.-based NextGen Security works primarily with large enterprise companies across the U.S., including petrochemical and energy, as well as in the higher education and healthcare verticals, says vice president of customer development Brian Courdoff.

Access control makes up about 40% to 45% of the company’s business, he says.

“Everything is going to more of a digital, more user-friendly type of application,” he says. “I do agree with a lot that’s going on with getting away even from the plastic cards. I love where we’re going with biometrics and some of the different avenues that we can take doing single-factor or dual-factor authentication to make it easier for people to use.”

Jim Lantrip, senior vice president of operations at Allied Universal and a member of the board of directors for the Foundation for Advancing Security Talent, says the days of keys are dwindling but not gone entirely, although they’re a rare sight among their customers in data centers, critical infrastructure, the nuclear space, biopharma, medical facilities and commercial office buildings.

“We don’t really do that very much, but it’s still out there unfortunately,” he says. “It’s still very inexpensive, comparatively speaking, to put a standard lock set on the door but you lose everything that access control brings you.”

“You lose the ability to control who can come and go. If that key’s lost, anybody can come and go. You don’t know who did it. You don’t know when anybody went in and out of a door. You don’t have the ability to say when anybody can go in and out of a door, you don’t have the ability to give access to somebody else without giving them a key,” says Lantrip.

“I won’t say keys are dying because I don’t think they’ll ever go away but for important doors, like exterior entry exit doors and internal doors into important spaces, we see access control is the only thing that’s happening out there,” he says.

Mark Peterson, director of national security services for Security Hunter, a 75-person operation that works strictly with the federal government, whether that is in the Department of Defense space or in the civilian sector.

Access control represents about one-third of the company’s business along with intrusion detection and video surveillance.

“All of our installs are using pivClass or CAC readers,” says Peterson. “We’re not doing anything else other than what would be allowable in a federal environment.”

In most cases, says Peterson, there’s a competitive bid process where the government has to advertise the solicitation with a scope of work and anywhere from six weeks to six months before the award date, depending on the complexity of the award and the number of anticipated returns on proposals before the job is awarded.

Security Hunter maintains a 20,000-square-foot warehouse of all its most commonly used parts that helps it get ahead of any procurement lead times, he says.

Biometrics Increasing in Importance in Access Control

Hawkeye Alarm is typically installing mobile credentials, key card readers or key fob systems, with an occasional job that involves biometrics.

“The mobile credentials are very, very popular,” says Samek. “We don’t really get into much of the biometrics. We don’t have too many of the high-security customers that need the level of the biometrics. There has been interest over the years, but usually, once we start throwing around the price tags for those devices, then it’s not that important anymore.”

Alarmingly Affordable doesn’t shy away from installing biometrics-based access control systems, but Capogna has prioritized those with a Bluetooth component.

“We’re getting away from credentials and administering the Bluetooth credential with your email address,” he says. “Biometrics, I’ll do it occasionally on a low-throughput room like an IT room, a safe room, but the Bluetooth is what’s really taking off right now.”

“When we sold our systems, we always included the Bluetooth reader, but we didn’t enable the license. Now, when people are coming back, they don’t have to buy the new reader. We just enable it. It’s another fee per month, of course, but we see a big benefit in that,” says Capogna.

NextGen Security is getting more questions about incorporating access control into mobile phones and even using biometrics, says Courdoff.

“It’s really good for us to go back in and see where our customers’ deficiencies are and at least educate them on the facial recognition across the board, on what they could be doing day to day to better serve their community and staying up on the technology side, as well,” he says.

Courdoff continues, “People are getting back on their technology, getting their budgets back, understanding that they have to move forward with their technologies, as well as showing ease of use of how it is to do either some type of enrollment of a phone or some type of enrollment across a digital platform.”

“You look at it 20 years ago, when we started putting card readers on turnstiles, and everyone was like, ‘Wow!’ Now, you’re putting applications like Alcatraz on turnstiles where it’s facial and people are coming through without having to stop and take out cards or put their coffee down on the turnstile. And it does become an easy use again,” says Courdoff.

Allied Universal installs access control systems with “a whole variety of biometrics,” says Lantrip, although the space is on a bit of a roller coaster.

“We saw a big push initially, and then some laws started coming out, saying you can’t just do biometrics the way you want to and you have privacy laws on the biometric data, how it’s stored, where it’s stored, what it’s tied to, how you link it to a record with a name on it,” he says.

“It’s an important part of the industry, but its growth curve, was, I’ll say, slowed down or slightly hampered by some of the rules and laws that are there to protect people and protect people’s information,” says Lantrip.

Security Hunter has limited applications where they install biometrics, primarily with fingerprints but occasionally with retinal scanners, says Peterson.

The Role of Recurring Revenue

Hawkeye Alarm maintains regular contact with its customers, even after the installation is complete, leading to ample opportunity for recurring revenue, says Samek.

“We always try to offer the lowest total cost of ownership-type systems,” he says. “But we also service the locks, the strikes, the magnets. We do it all so we’re all the way in from the prewire stage, the hardware installation, setup of the software, training and then there’s a lot of refreshers on the training and showing maybe some new staff how to operate the software.”

“With the coming of the web-based access control and cloud-based access control, that definitely opened up a few RMR markets for us, giving us a little more revenue stream. With our traditional server-based access control, there were no reoccurring licenses, and so we couldn’t really justify charging for licenses that didn’t exist. Now, with the more interactive and online options, that’s definitely opened that up for us.”

After struggling to determine a pricing model for cloud-based access control systems for about nine months, Alarmingly Affordable has found its sweet spot, says Capogna. The company never sells any product without securing a maintenance or service agreement from its clients.

“The client now knows why they’re paying recurring [revenue] on that,” he says. “In addition to the maintenance that’s always been 1% of sale price monthly month for 13 forward, they now understand they’re paying for hosting and sometimes admin, but what they’re not paying for is the maintenance of an on-site server, the licensing, the upgrade of that machine moving forward.”

“It’s ‘pay me now or pay me later.’ They’re finally getting it, and it’s well received, and I’m not fighting that anymore,” says Capogna.

Cloud-based access control “is where it’s at,” he says. “It’s just so far superior to anything that I’ve seen. Like when the digital video recorder came out in 2001 [or] 2002, and we jumped in on that. We’re killing it, and the client loves the fact that they have it in the palm of their hand and the information that we push out to them.”

NextGen Security continues to explore different ways to generate recurring revenue, says Courdoff.

“We know, with our enterprise customers, some are very good at what they do and how they manage their own systems,” he says. “We are looking at that and have different ways to bring revenue into our organization as well.”

“It’s not just the revenue piece. It’s about the technology, as well. If it’s smart for our customers, that’s when we’ll present it to them. It’s good for integrators, too, that we have another reason to go back and talk to our customers again,” says Courdoff.

Lantrip sees plenty of recurring revenue opportunities in access control.

“It starts with hosted solutions,” he says. “A solution in the cloud tends to bring a good RMR to you, but even premise-based solutions have software support agreements or software update agreements.”

The access control market is “really breaking into a lot of other areas,” says Lantrip. “Standard alarm monitoring, we’re seeing through the access control platforms. We’re seeing indoor locating through the access control platform that all of those controls can drive additional recurring services and additional one-time services for additions and subtractions to the platform.”

Peterson has enjoyed the bounty of recurring revenue in the access control space.

“There’s always a profit in a maintenance contract if it’s been evaluated and bid properly,” he says. “I have both kinds of contracts that fall directly under my purview. One is all-encompassing and then I have others that, as long as I have to put a tech on the ground, they have to pay for it. If I can remote into it and resolve it through their enterprise, it’s already covered under my help desk services.”

Explaining Access Control to Customers

Most of Hawkeye Alarm’s customers understand the access control market or are at least able to articulate the problem they’re having and the solution they’re seeking, says Samek.

“They come to us, saying, ‘We want to put a key fob on this door. Put that door on a schedule.’ They don’t need to know all the intricacies that go along with it,” he says. “That’s where we come in, being able to look at the physical door and knowing what strike, what specific hardware is needed for that type of opening to really to make it work.”

The bulk of Alarmingly Affordable’s work comes from replacing access control systems by other integrators rather than installing systems for the first time, says Capogna.

“Not many people install access control correctly,” he says. “Most people install access control as a glorified electronic key. That’s not what we do when we install an access control system. It’s not it. Yes, it has the convenience of being an electronic key. But it’s telling you if the door is open, it’s telling you if the door is forced. I’m sending you a lot of information.”

“At the end of the month on these takeovers, people are saying, ‘I can’t believe what this system has done for me. It has alerted me to problems that I didn’t know I had!’ And then, you go to the videotape, and you tie it all together. Our access control systems do a lot more than just open a door,” says Capogna.

Customers are definitely becoming more educated and sophisticated about all things related to security and access control, says Courdoff.

“There is a lot more technology out there,” he says. “The IT acceptance is now good, especially on the access control side. We’re not big bandwidth hogs or anything like that. We make people feel better. We’re definitely still sitting there in a good spot and educating those who need to be educated.”

Lantrip calls access control “a very mature product” that most of Allied Universal’s customers understand and ask for when they talk.

“I don’t know when the last time I was involved in an opportunity where the customer did not understand what access control was and wasn’t seeking it out actively,” he says.

Security Hunter’s clients are about evenly split in terms of knowing about access control and needing to be educated about it, says Peterson.

“Several of our contracts require us to provide bi-annual updates on new technologies,” he says. “Generally, we’ll go maybe 90 days after ISC West or after GSX. We’ll have another update for that. We’ll have to [provide] a brief overview of what technology is coming down the pike. What do we think will make it not only through the new shiny period, but what will actually provide long term?”

“The U.S. government isn’t guinea pigs. Generally, products going out to the main facilities have to have anywhere from seven to 10 years of maintenance history before the government will buy it. They want to see that it’s going to hold up over time before they’re willing to put in tens of millions of dollars of investment into that technology,” says Peterson.

Future Growth Potential

Despite the exponential growth of the access control market, Samek sees plenty of room for it to continue its upward trajectory.

“We’re very fortunate to have a very loyal customer base that’s usually expanding and growing,” he says. “Once they like the system, and we can prove that it does what we say it can do, and it helps them manage their business — make something with their side of things a little bit more secure — then they see it as a convenience and want to add this convenience to this door…to that door.”

“We’re very fortunate that a lot of our existing customers drive a lot of our work, just by trusting the system and seeing that convenience. In the education market, a lot of places want to get away from unsecured doors and people propping things open, so adding that card reader to the majority of main entrances that staff use frequently really drives a lot of that, too,” says Samek.

While many customers are moving full force into the technological age, whether that means mobile access control or biometrics, there are still some who enjoy having a slightly more old-school key fob, says Samek.

“We still see a lot of interest in the physical key fobs,” he says. “The mobile credentials are nice in small quantities for your handful of end users. When you have a school that’s trying to deploy it out to a couple hundred teachers that might be more of a pain than just issuing a key card to them and having them pick it up and they also are using those for their ID badges and stuff like that.”

“I don’t see the physical credentials going away anytime soon. We still have a lot of interest in that. The number of doors has certainly increased when we’re doing a building. We’re not doing too many one and two doors. We’re doing all of the doors in the facility, moving into the interior doors,” says Samek.

Courdoff sees plenty of potential for growth in the access control space.

“I love that there’s competition out there,” he says. “I love that the competition on the technology side is pushing the manufacturers to another level and coming up with different applications.”

“In general, at the end of the day I’m happy to be a part of it, helping secure buildings, helping secure data, helping secure facilities for different venues and different verticals. And I’m really excited about where we’re taking this technology from where it was 20 years ago,” says Courdoff.

He expects cloud to be the name of the game in access control in the near future.

“I definitely see a lot more cloud applications — 100% full cloud and hybrid — because we still have disasters that happen out there in the world that you can’t help that there will be no Internet connection,” says Courdoff.

“I could also see, and I’m hoping at some point, plastic goes away,” he says. “I want the key rings mostly gone. I want the cards mostly gone, stuff that you can lose and transact. I also see bigger authentication out there behind the scenes and that’s where I do believe you’ll see biometric-type, facial recognition-types, all applications like that.”

“The speed that they’re able to get things done now is really good. You go in and you look at where it was five years ago to where it is now, and the implementation, and how they can bring your face…your fingerprint…into a system has really improved,” says Courdoff.

Allied Universal is seeing “a good growth in the cloud side of the business, where the head end is in the cloud somewhere, whether we’re managing it or they’re managing,” says Lantrip.

“We’re seeing a shift to more and more adoption of cloud-based head end, cloud-based platform and all the benefits that come from that on the access control systems and I think that adoption will continue,” he says. “We’re seeing it across all segments of the software space so it’s only natural that access control would go that way.”

The retail and small office markets are “still slow to adopt access control,” says Lantrip.

“They view it as an expense they don’t need, but don’t recognize the advantages it can bring to them,” he says.

Staying Educated on Access Control Advancements

With so much change in the access control market — and with more sure to come in the future — it’s important to stay on top of what’s next in the space, says Samek.

“I personally subscribe to IPVM (Internet Protocol Video Market, an industry research group) and they do a lot of great research topics and discussions on the latest products and testing,” he says. “We find a great value in in that platform and being able to read discussions between other integrators from all over to really know all the different ways to come at a problem.”

Capogna doesn’t go to security industry trade shows to learn what’s hot in the industry.

“We’re constantly scouring the internet,” he says. “If I can’t find it on the Internet, it doesn’t exist. We will not sell anything that’s brand new. When something comes out, we buy it. If we don’t like it, we throw it out. We’re constantly looking at new things. Right now, I’m looking at a wireless lock set that runs on an existing wi-fi back end that’s more affordable.”

Courdoff has been on the technical side with a systems integrator and also worked on the applications and sales sides for a manufacturer before joining NextGen Security. That’s helped him learn about the latest and greatest in the security industry from a variety of perspectives.

“We as an organization do like to test things,” he says. “I work very closely with our engineering team and see what they’re testing. I understand technology, not from just a sales point, but from the technology side, as well. And I do pay attention to what’s going on.”

“One big difference is, say, 20 years ago, there might have been five access control systems out there. Today, there are hundreds of manufacturers out there and there’s a lot of people doing a lot of good things. You’ve got to look at the investment that people are making in their R&D. You have to look at where they’re going with their technology, where they’ve been and how they support the customer day 30, day 90 [and] day 180,” says Courdoff.

Allied Universal relies on its product committee, among other resources, to stay on top of the latest innovations in the access control space, says Lantrip.

“We don’t believe that a single person can take stay abreast of everything so we have a product committee with segmented responsibilities for people to gain information and bring it back to the committee and then disperse it among the sales teams, the engineering teams, etc., so that we can then take that to the customer,” he says.

“Bleeding-edge technology has its risks, and we avoid it fairly heavily, because of the inherent challenges of the unknown with them,” says Lantrip. “Leading-edge technologies are an area that that we work in very well, and we have a number of customers where we will test with the customer.”

“We’ll do betas on their test networks with them and in their environment just to understand exactly what we’re going to get out of it, what we’re going to see for it and how it’s going to benefit them, as well as benefit us,” he says.

Peterson calls himself “a sponge for knowledge” who participates in several industry groups, both online and in the local area, to find out what’s new and coming soon in the access control world and other segments of the security industry.

“We get together, discuss new emerging technologies, use case scenarios, even the far-fetched ones,” he says. “You never know, you could be sitting down with a customer, and they say, ‘we have a weird situation.’ I just had that conversation not a month ago, believe it or not, and there is a technology that can cover you and we’ll talk about that.”

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Cass County, a rural area encompassing 565 square miles of primarily agricultural land, has faced recent challenges in providing timely emergency medical services (EMS) due to decreased volunteers and reduced manpower.

The county’s wide geographic area has further complicated emergency response efforts. However, growing risks and a burgeoning population have facilitated the need for robust emergency operations and response.

The State of Iowa’s implementation of the Iowa United First Aid (IUFA) program gave Cass County the opportunity to address the critical gaps in its emergency response infrastructure. Developed by Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg, IUFA aims to bridge crucial gaps in emergency services.

Why Cass County, Iowa, Chose Intellicene

With the support of IUFA, Cass County implemented Symphia NowForce, a state-of-the-art dispatch and response platform, to address these challenges and modernize its emergency response services.

NowForce offers situational awareness by seamlessly integrating real-time data into a single view. Using live and historical event data, GIS maps, responder positions, reporter inputs, and other external source information, security teams can efficiently dispatch the closest, best-equipped and most appropriate personnel and help stakeholders remain informed and connected regardless of location.

“Whether it’s an emergency, accident, natural disaster, fire, or other safety event, an accurate and immediate response is critical,” says Erik Johnson, Cass County First Aid program coordinator. “Cass County is committed to ensuring its residents and businesses remain protected and have access to emergency services whenever needed.

“Symphia NowForce has empowered us to reduce response times to approximately three minutes from the time of the 9-1-1 call. This expedited response time ensures greater safety, saves lives, and enhances collaboration between our first responders,” he says.

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