San Francisco Partners with RapidSOS for 9-1-1 Integration with Uber
“The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management is always seeking ways to increase location accuracy from cellphone callers,” said Mary Ellen Carroll, executive director of SFDEM. “This new technology with enhanced location services and travel information will help save lives. We are grateful that our private partners are working with us directly in making San Francisco safer for all our residents and visitors.”
Since late 2018, San Francisco’s 9-1-1 dispatchers began receiving more precise location information from 9-1-1 callers. Developed by RapidSOS, this enhancement gives 9-1-1 dispatchers the ability to toggle between standard carrier automatic number identification/automatic location identification (ANI/ALI) and the phone’s own coordinates, allowing for greater location accuracy. This technology and additional location information is only available on updated versions of iPhones and Androids.
Prior to RapidSOS integration, basic location information that users agree to provide on a mobile device was not provided to San Francisco’s 9-1-1 system when a person called for emergency assistance. As a result, if the mobile caller could not provide location information, the dispatcher would have to initiate a lengthy process in an attempt to approximate a caller’s location. In 2014, the FCC issued a report estimating that improved mobile location information for 9-1-1 would save 10,000 lives annually.
In addition to this enhancement to 9-1-1 call processing, SFDEM, under agreement and through an integration with RapidSOS and Uber, will be the first agency in the Bay Area to receive accurate caller location and additional emergency data from Uber passengers initiating a call to 9-1-1 via the Uber app’s “9-1-1 Assistance” feature.
This new emergency button feature on the Uber app allows 9-1-1 dispatchers to automatically obtain key details, including Uber driver and rider information, vehicle description, license plate, current location and direction of travel. When Uber’s in-app emergency button is used, the information is sent digitally to the RapidSOS interface, which a dispatcher can then access once a caller indicates they are using the Uber service.
“We believe technology can help make the roads safer. This feature is available in more than 60 cities, and we are proud to add San Francisco, our home, to the growing list of cities using this technology,” said Krishnaja Gutta, Uber product safety manager. “Every second counts in an emergency, and we want to make sure Uber users have important information to get help quickly if faced with an emergency situation.”
The new technology will directly benefit and assist with the response from the San Francisco Police Department.
“Our core mission is to ensure the safety of the public,” said San Francisco Police Chief William Scott. “We welcome the use of technology that enables our City’s first responders to react more quickly and efficiently during an emergency.”
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Orion Labs Offers Floor-Level Location Accuracy with Voice Platform
The integration delivers enhanced situational awareness and improved operational efficiency in GPS-deprived environments by tracing the location of Orion managed devices.
“The indoor location of personnel and equipment assets is a vital piece of the puzzle for many mobile business-critical applications,” said Ramon Llamas, research director at global market intelligence firm IDC. “The Orion Voice Platform addresses this challenge by deploying the comprehensive Polaris 3D location toolkit with APIs (application programming interfaces), providing proven location technology.”
The technology allows users to know exactly what floor or room a team member or 9-1-1 caller is located. Plus, Orion customers in any industry using Advanced Location Services can locate team members on the vertical axis accurate to 3 meters’ distance to keep teams better informed and connected. The technology offers enhanced team performance and improves worker safety across the board.
On March 27, the State of Arizona held a public safety broadband forum for first responders, public administrators, and IT support personnel to discuss FirstNet and its impact on the state’s public safety broadband needs. More than 60 local, state, and federal public safety officials gathered in Phoenix to hear from government and industry leaders about the latest developments in FirstNet’s capabilities, discuss their network operational needs, and learn about recent FirstNet use cases.
The forum included a public safety panel discussion with Andy Seybold, Andrew Seybold Inc.; Scott Edson, Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS); Randy Thompson, City of Mesa; Kevin Rogers, Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS); and Morgan Hoaglin, Arizona Division of Emergency Management.
Allen Police Department Deploys CentralSquare Public-Safety Software
The Allen (Texas) Police Department selected the CentralSquare Public Safety Suite Enterprise, which includes CAD, records management and mobile systems. The department’s purchase represents an upgrade of its existing communication and records systems.
The system helps ensure fast multiagency, multidiscipline and multijurisdictional response among law enforcement, fire and EMS.
“From the time we pick up a 9-1-1 call through writing reports and every other public-safety service we provide, we wanted one seamless system from start to finish,” said Allen Police Department Deputy Chief Ken Myers. “In partnering with CentralSquare, we’re working toward critical departmental goals: increase the speed and accuracy of our reporting, improve collection of data and make better decisions with analytics and citizen service tools, ultimately so we can keep officers out in the community. We look forward to leveraging the system’s flexibility, automation and citizen portal to make sure we enhance efficiency in all areas of our department.”
CentralSquare Technologies was formed by the mergerof Superion, TriTech Software Systems and Zuercher Technologies last year.
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At just over 3,000 square miles, Elmore County is one of the largest in Idaho, but also one of the most remote, meaning radio and wireless communication can sometimes be a struggle.
The local sheriff’s department shares its experience with the FirstNet dedicated public safety broadband network.
by Melissa Delaney
Brazos County, Texas got its first glimpse into the future in 2010. Police Sgt. Josh Hearen attended a demonstration for the nation’s first public safety broadband network in neighboring Harris County, a First Responders Network Authority (FirstNet) Early Builder.
“Josh planted the seed here that maybe we could work off that core antenna and test some of the devices,” recalls Brazos County Sheriff Chris Kirk. Harris County loaned them six devices, and the test proved successful. Within a few years, Brazos County was operating on band class 14 — the public safety spectrum — and continued until November 2017, when Texas opted into FirstNet. “We started the project the week of Thanksgiving,” says Kirk, and they haven’t looked back.
Learn about current efforts to continue to protect the 4.9 GHz Band for public safety as well as recent filings, key decisions impacting these efforts, and how you can support PSSA’s initiative to protect the 4.9 GHz band for public safety.
