A Secure Safety Net

May 1, 2007 12:00 PM

When responding to hostage and other emergency situations inside of school buildings, police officers and first responders are often unable to take swift, lifesaving actions if they are not fully aware of what is occurring inside the building. This problem was made clear after the Columbine High School shooting on April 20, 1999, and it became a matter of serious concern to law enforcement officials in Spotsylvania County, Va.

The 407-square-mile county with 31 public schools has an estimated population of 116,375 and harbors public safety and emergency response services provided by the Sheriff's Department, nine fire companies and nine emergency rescue stations.

Security concerns also mounted across the county following the 2002 sniper shootings that terrorized the greater Washington, D.C., region with two shootings in Spotsylvania County during October 2002. Sheriff's deputies were on high alert and stationed outside county schools.

When reviewing past school shootings incidents, county officials realized that law enforcement officers would be blind to actions taking place within the walls of a school that had been taken hostage. Without improved situational awareness, responders would have to delay entry, significantly increasing the likelihood for casualties. There were also limited personnel resources within the school system to improve security. Hiring additional security staff was not a feasible option.

However, a permanent police presence at each Spotsylvania school was also not feasible. Therefore, the county decided to implement Houston-based LenSec's video surveillance network that would allow emergency workers and school administrators to have a common operational picture of events taking place inside the school. The system is accessible to first responders and other authorized users via a municipal wireless network. Using the system, responding officials have a real-time, accurate picture of events inside of every school building.

Yet in order to implement the LenSec solution, Spotsylvania County officials needed to set up a wireless network that would enable secure access to the real-time video images transmitted from the cameras.

The school system turned to CDW Government Inc., Vernon Hills, Ill., for the solution. CDW-G advised Spotsylvania on a mobile computing system that would meet the demanding requirements of officers in the field, equipping local police cars, SWAT units and some fire department vehicles with ruggedized Itronix GoBook Max laptops connected to the Internet countywide via Sprint's 2.5G 56 kbps CDMA network.

When responders arrive at a scene, they connect to the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), validate their identities, select the desired video feed and capture a real-time snapshot of the situation. “The network is a mobile VPN solution that has been optimized for use in vehicles and is 128-bit encrypted,” says Greg Call, Rappahannock County Regional Crime Information network administrator. Users can view camera feeds securely from any standard Web browser, and because the system is IP-based, the video can be accessed in patrol vehicles via Sprint network on the laptops or any handheld Internet-enabled device. The wireless network and remote access capabilities allow state, local and federal levels of government to collaborate using the same information, speeding up decision-making and ensuring a coordinated response.

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