Security Technology Executive

NOV-DEC 2015

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34 SECURITY TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE • November/December 2015 www.SecurityInfoWatch.com 2015 SECURITY INNOVATION AWARDS safe during a large event," said Hollister police Captain Carlos Reynoso. The video can also be used in court. Active Patrolling The Hollister Police Department improved their situational awareness of the event by "listening" to geo-tagging social media posts to get an over- all sense and tone of the event. By incorporat- ing location-based technology, they were able to map a location anywhere in Downtown Hollister and monitor real-time social content from mul- tiple sources, with one click. This better equipped their deployed resources to focus and secure high traffic areas, better protect the public, identify wanted criminals and witnesses, as well as moni- tor any potential or ensuing unrest. The monitoring paid off; law enforcement at the event now had a very large compilation of pictures and text postings from the various social media communities taken at the rally. The police were able to monitor the content for threats or malice. By adding location-based intelligence the Hollister Police Department was able to track sus- picious incidents on social media coming from the downtown area during the rally, and was able to monitor and extinguish potential threats before they started. The social media data set coupled with the video surveillance feeds allowed law enforcement officials to identify the area where the pictures were posted, deploy resources intelligently who were equipped with real-time information, such as a picture or video clip, social media profile of the person of interest. "We have access to all the cameras, social media inputs and geo-locations of our deployed officers at all three command centers allowing for expedi- ent response if an incident should arise. We can then dispatch our officers on the ground before an incident becomes a larger problem," said Police Chief David Westrick. Force Multiplier In addition to the location based social media moni tor ing pl atfor m and te chnolo g ic all y advanced video surveillance cameras the Hol- lister Police Department deployed a real-time web based command and control software appli- cation that facilitated team collaboration and shared situational awareness to groups of mobi- lized officers and first responders deployed in and around the Rally. The police department contracts with other law enforcement agencies throug hout the region for additional personnel to patrol on foot the entire event area. These officers work- ing the event are for the most part unfamil- iar with the city. There was a need to provide immediately available logistical, geographical and situational awareness to each team of offi- cers patrolling the event. Ver y few police depar tments have "truly integrated" their policy and technology layers in a "Common Operating Picture" that brings together a unified command and control sys- tem and delivers real-time information to first responders as well as to their distributed com- mand layer. The Hollister Police Department was able to deliver and share all information that was available to deployed officers at the Rally in an appropriate and important time- frame from all relevant sources. All Law Enforcement resources had a real- time "Common Operating Picture" at the Rally, which facilitated faster, safer and more effective responses to all types of incidents. Command staff and dispatchers had real time information on the location of the downtown foot patrol teams as they worked the event. This information was crucial to deploying the closest team swiftly to a call and therefore reaching a favorable con- clusion by averting the escalation of incidents. Through the use of the applications collab- orative tools such as interactive white boarding, encrypted texting, file/picture/video sharing, the Hollister Police Department was able to analyze, share and then to create an accurate representa- tion of the many localized events within the Rally and look for "the unexpected", which is a valuable tool for law enforcement officials. Officers were trained on the cameras and the technology platforms. The monitors were Every July 4th weekend, the City that is referred to as the "Birthplace of the American Biker", plays host to tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts from all over the country. Rally attendance reports list that over 100,000 people converge into the city with a population of 38,000 over the three-day event. The event footprint is 12 city blocks in the middle of downtown Hollister. SECURITY INNOVATION AWARD G O L D W I N N E R

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