Apr 10, 2008
CommunitySafe

CommunitySafe is a central point of real-time advice and information on counter-terrorism and crime reduction provided by the police and local councils.

The challenge

The recent Civil Contingencies Act means the police and local authorities must warn and inform the general public and other key groups during an incident. There were some legacy systems in place, but the client realised that reviewing their resilience was essential, as well as integrating additional communications channels. Needless to say, the 7/7 attacks on London underscored the urgent need for a more robust system with geographic information as well as alert capabilities.

The solution

The CommunitySafe initiative effectively links community safety and civil protection though a common interface and supports the national eGovernment strategy. This delivers key operational efficiencies, increased preparedness, situational awareness, and the ability to respond to disruptive challenges by using a central collaboration and communication platform customised for the local environment. The Metropolitan Police and the City of Westminster used the CitySafe system during the July 2005 bombings on the London Underground network.

The following services are core to the CommunitySafe project:

Preparedness / Advice

• Public website (freely available to the local community) • Central point for local crime, security and emergency advice • Additional Private and Secure groups

Warning & Informing

• Alerts sent by email, SMS, pager and web updates and optional high capacity voice message line • Selectively & dynamically target alert recipients by geographic location and by pre-created user-groups • Incident location maps shared over the web • Ability to add cordons, press points and other information to maps • Real time messages, with date / time suitable for audits • Centralise and enhance existing initiatives such as Project Griffin etc

Business Advice

• Link to the Virtual Exercise System for business run by the Metropolitan Police, London Fire Brigade, Health Protection Agency and Local Authority Partners

CitySafe’s Beacon product has been used successfully for more than three years to manage and share key alerts and information in central London by the Metropolitan police and local authorities. Visit CommunitySafe website.