New Jersey Utilizes New Technology to Improve Emergency Response

Hurricane Joaquin may not have hit the East Coast as hard as forecasted, but that didn’t stop New Jersey public safety officials from utilizing technology to make sure they were prepared. Understanding the relationship between heightened communication and public safety, the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police (NJSACOP) has collaborated with tech leaders to improve how public safety agencies communicate with each other and residents.

Through a partnership with Cisco Systems and CDW-G, the NJSACOP Public Safety and Justice Portal was established. Offering public safety agencies face-to-face, real-time communication any time, the portal will provide savings in travel, administration, transportation and meeting costs.

Built for mobile devices, Cisco’s Jabber software allows the state’s public safety agencies to address threats faster. Furthermore, Cisco’s WebEx Collaboration Meeting Room is designed to unite as many as 200 people at up to 25 video endpoints in a virtual conference room. This feature could be an efficient way to communicate to many at once in the event of a disaster such as a hurricane.

The joint efforts of Cisco Connected Justice and CDW Cloud Collaboration could also improve the emergency response of the NJSACOP Public Safety and Justice Portal. By utilizing the cloud, residents could communicate with 911 or police in real time.

This isn’t the first time New Jersey has experimented with more agile emergency response technology. Earlier this year, the town of Lakewood, N.J., introduced technology geared towards improving location accuracy and awareness. The state’s portal is just the latest example of how New Jersey is leveraging state-of-the-art IT to enhance public safety.