Security Technology Executive

JUL-AUG 2015

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16 SECURITY TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE • July/August 2015 www.SecurityInfoWatch.com PUBLIC SAFETY B y Kev in W in e T he worldwide population levels are growing at a rapid rate and urbanization drives new levels of inhabitants in large cities across the globe. The move from urban areas to cities compels munici- palities to evaluate ways to boost efficiency and improve quality of life. With large and complex infrastructures serving millions of people, today's cities are vulnerable to a wide range of threats such as overcrowding, criminal activity, terrorism and natural disasters. As a result, there is a grow- ing trend toward the creation of citywide public safety programs to better protect people, prop- erty and assets. As metropolitan areas grow, the need for valuable information expands, and municipal governments and agencies collect more data than ever before. It is critical that cities distill the most timely and rel- evant information to build strong security postures. Managed correctly, the data transforms into infor- mation that provides "actionable intelligence" and positions cities to realize valued insights that quick- ly lead to more effective decision-making. Safe and Secure City projects are growing and evolving, and one of the biggest additions to these initiatives is the addition of private-public partner- ships. The ability to share critical data between public and private sectors helps drive new levels of safety and security. While it is certainly not a new phenomenon, public-private partnerships are growing in adoption — not just across North America but across the world. Private business and public safety agencies have united with the com- mon goal of making cities better and safer plac- es to live. Regardless of how these partnerships manifest, they are designed to expand awareness, enhance collaboration and increase the amount of information that can be gathered from a number of sources quickly and efficiently. Public-Private Partnerships Drive Secured Cities Collaboration between businesses, municipal leaders paramount to streamlining response, improving public safety A Seat at the Table The threats facing today's cities and metropolitan areas are numerous. From naturally occurring events, such as severe weather and earthquakes, to the potential dangers posed by terrorist threats, the risk landscape is vast and dynamic. Manpower resources are stretched at many public safety agencies, which is why the participa- tion of the private sector — either directly or indirectly — is a valuable addition to any Safe City program. At the same time, cities today have access to more information than ever before — from sur veillance platforms, crowdsourcing applications, video analytics and social media — that can streamline investigations, improve protection of critical assets and optimize busi- ness efficiencies. Timely and accurate sharing of all this information is vital during disasters and emergen- cies — it can make the difference between a successful or failed response. Public-private partnerships are designed to allow both parties to benefit from information sharing and the exact make-ups of these agreements can come in many forms. In a simplistic approach, there may be a video-sharing agreement in place between businesses and law enforcement in which the organizations agree to share video footage as needed. More robust initia- tives include the development of an agency to manage collaboration and focus on short- and long-term infor- mation sharing initiatives. With a wide variety of information sources available, municipal agencies need a simple way to share and ana- lyze incoming data to boost response times and keep citizens safe. Time is of the essence in most emergency situations, so finding a way to weed through the abun- dance of information and pinpoint useful intelligence in real time is imperative. To accurately assess risk and identify real threats to the general public, municipalities need information and management systems that can quickly and efficiently leverage the available material.

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