Texas A&M University San Antonio has adopted the Safezone indoor positioning system, which has been developed by CriticalArc, which gives security guards an unprecedented three-dimensional view of multi-storey buildings on campus.
For example, instead of receiving an alert about an “incident somewhere in the student union building”, they receive a much-more detailed message saying “it’s on the fourth floor, west wing, outside room 410”.
The system allows users to get the most rapid help simply by activating an alert, using an app or a wearable duress alarm.
As soon as the alert is triggered, the location and details of the user are streamed to the monitoring team, allowing officers to coordinate a smarter, more-targeted response to an incident, be it a fire, medical emergency or terror attack.
By enabling responders to visualise the precise location of an incident, anywhere on campus, SafeZone is much more powerful than traditional, fixed panic alarms and blue light telephones, which are more expensive to install and less accurate in operation.
The university’s Chief of Police Ron Davidson wanted to innovate with this full-coverage system because the campus was expanding, including a newly completed residence hall, which meant having students there around the clock for the first time in its history.
In addition, Chief Davidson was in search of a common operating view that would provide the Emergency Operations Centre and all officers on patrol a real-time location of all available officers and volunteers, as well as showing the location of all incidents ̶ essential for coordinating first responders and the Campus Community Emergency Response Team (CCERT).
“SafeZone is essential technology to position your organisation on the cutting edge of campus law enforcement. The real-time common operating view both enhances officer safety and acts a force multiplier. Plus, the entire police department benefits from advanced features such as heat mapping and incident playback to optimise performance,” Davidson said.
The system was installed during the summer holidays, with no disruption to staff or students.
CriticalArc’s Chief Executive Officer, Glenn Farrant added: “I’m delighted by the close partnership between A&M-SA and CriticalArc resulting in this ground-breaking implementation of the SafeZone public safety solution. Chief Davidson and his team are at the forefront of using this technology and we are pleased to be helping them improve the quality of life, and the learning experience, for everyone on their campus.”
