Mutualink multimedia platform gives first responders more real-time school data
What is in this article?
Mutualink multimedia platform gives first responders more real-time school data
The solution was borne out of an active-shooter exercise at a school in Hartford, Conn., where the police chief suggested connecting the school’s systems through Mutualink. After going through the exercise four times—the first run done without the aid of any technology—public-safety personnel were able to whittle the time needed to secure the scene from about 17 minutes to 4-and-a-half minutes, Hatten said.
“It was this whole experience that was multimedia-activated, which is so much better than video alone or audio alone,” he said.
That faster time was possible because police were able to see the suspect on the school’s cameras as the principal shared additional detail over the school’s family service radio, Hatten said. The platform also makes available other data—for instance, school blueprints—and gives users access to others on the nationwide Mutualink network.
“Once you start to connect infrastructure, it’s great for emergencies, but there’s all sorts of regular uses for it, too,” Hatten said.
Mutualink K12 is designed and licensed exclusively for public, private and parochial K-12 schools. Because each agency maintains control over its communication resources, no memorandum of understanding is required, according to Mutualink. The platform has multi-level encryption and a distributed architecture.
With the first production run of the solution sold out, Mutualink is planning a higher-volume run within the next four weeks, Hatten said. Once purchased and after an advance site survey, Mutualink K12 installs in less than one day, he said.