Executive White Paper Cisco Open Platform for Safety and Security: Understand the Citizen-Authority Interaction Architecture Building Block What You Will Learn The Cisco Open Platform for Safety and Security is an architecture framework for building solutions to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from incidents. The framework comprises six building blocks: Command and Control, Mission-Critical Network, Incident Collaboration, Sensing and Actuation, Mobile Force, and Citizen-Authority Interaction. This white paper, intended for organizations planning investments in safety and security technologies and for solutions providers, focuses on the Citizen-Authority Interaction architecture building block. This building block provides the following capabilities: •• Enabling citizens to report information to authorities using phones, videophones, Short Message Service (SMS) messages, and Multimedia Message Service (MMS) •• Enabling authorities to alert and instruct targeted groups of citizens using automated phone calls, broadcasts to all mobile phones in a geographic area, digital signage, and other methods The Role of Citizen-Authority Interaction in Safety and Security Citizen-Authority Interaction has two main roles during emergency response. One is accepting emergency notification from citizens, which can accelerate awareness and response. The other is alerting citizens about an emergency event and instructing them what to do. Figure 1 shows the role of the Citizen-Authority Interaction architecture building block in the Cisco Open Platform for Safety and Security. 1 Executive White Paper Figure 1 The Citizen-Authority Interaction Architecture Building Block Preparation and Prevention Recovery Response Detection Decision Assessment Examples of the Citizen-Authority Interaction include: •• Amber alert system in the United States: Amber alerts are intended to help law enforcement officers search for missing children. Authorities inform the public using a variety of channels, including digital signage on highways. The objective is to increase the number of people looking for the missing child or a possible suspect. •• Alerting citizens to potential public safety threats: Methods include air raid alarms, Japan’s tsunami alarm systems, and Internet portals. •• Displaying evacuation routes: Safety organizations can use digital signs on highways or in sports stadiums, for example. •• 911 and 112 emergency contact centers: Most countries provide a single emergency number that citizens can dial to report safety and security events. The agent dispatches the appropriate service, such as police, fire, or emergency medical services. Figure 2 shows the functional elements used in Citizen-Authority Interaction, and Table 1 shows the enabling solutions from Cisco and its partners. 2 Executive White Paper Figure 2 Citizen-Authority Interaction Functional Elements Table 1 Solutions Support Communications from Citizens to Authorities and from Authorities to Citizens Caller Location Next-Gen PSAP Systems Alerting - Cell Broadcast Alerting - PA System Information Systems - Digital Signage Information Systems - Mas Media Cisco Emergency Responder Cisco Digital Signage AtHoc Frequentis Positron SingleWire (previously known as Berbee) 3 Executive White Paper Citizen-to-Authority Interaction By making it easy for citizens to report incidents using any available communications device, public safety organizations can become aware of incidents more quickly. The main platform for citizen-to-authority interaction is the public safety answering point (PSAP), a contact center that receives emergency communications from citizens and dispatches the appropriate emergency service. A single-number PSAP is easier for citizens to use. Many countries have established emergency number services, such as 9-1-1 in the United States and 1-1-2 in the European Union. PSAP Technologies Until recently, most PSAPs could only accept voice calls. New PSAP technology also allows citizens to report emergencies using SMS messaging, MMS (such as images or video captured with mobile phones), email, and more. Technology Highlight: Frequentis The Integrated Communication Control System (ICCS) from Cisco and Frequentis enables PSAPs to capture information from callers using a variety of devices and media types and forward it to responders on their way to the scene. London’s Metropolitan Police Service is using ICCS to enable 23 boroughs to communicate using the national Airwave digital radio system. Boroughs are able to share CCTV images, as well, increasing situational awareness for officers. For more information, visit: www.frequentis.com/Internet/PublicSafety/PublicSafety/ PSAPs use the following technologies to collect information needed for an effective response: •• Mobile phone location: Callers using mobile phones sometimes cannot provide their exact location. Therefore, mobile service providers need to be able to determine the approximate location of the device within a few seconds. They can accomplish this using triangulation techniques. •• Foreign language support: If a caller does not speak the local language, the PSAP dispatcher should be able to quickly identify an available dispatcher in another PSAP who speaks the caller’s language and transfer the call. This requires presence information and a connection between contact centers. •• Support for deaf citizens: The PSAP needs a way to receive information from deaf or mute citizens. Popular options include videophones and SMS messaging. Slovenia, for example, offers videotelephony and wireless application protocol (WAP) text services in its PSAPs. •• Fusion Center technology: Fusion Centers merge data from multiple sources, providing an effective and efficient way to exchange information and intelligence, optimize resources, streamline operations, and improve event response. This technology is described in the Cisco executive white paper on the Command and Control Architecture Building Block. •• Dialing number detection: PSAP dispatchers can see the dialing number, enabling them to call back if required. Technology Highlight: Cisco Emergency Responder In organizations with IP phones, users can freely move phones, potentially preventing the PSAP dispatcher from knowing a caller’s precise location in the building. This can delay response if the caller is in a campus with multiple floors and buildings. Cisco Emergency Responder automatically tracks all phone moves and changes so that the PSAP operator can view the precise phone location. When a caller dials 911 or another emergency number, Cisco Emergency Responder also alerts onsite personnel through email, pager, telephone call, and web page notifications. For more information, visit: www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/voicesw/ps842/ 4 Executive White Paper PSAP Communication Channels The Citizen-Authority Interaction architecture building block supports the following communications channels in the PSAP: •• Voice: Callers can use a traditional phone, IP phone, or mobile phone. •• Videotelephony: Citizens who have videophones or webcams can use these to communicate with a PSAP dispatcher who has video capability. Being able to see the caller’s facial expression can help the dispatcher ascertain the severity of an incident and can also facilitate communications with people who are deaf. •• Data: Newer PSAPs can receive information submitted by SMS, MMS, instant messaging, and web forms. Citizens who witness events can capture video with their mobile phones and transmit it to the PSAP, providing more complete and accurate situational awareness than if they tried to describe the event with words only. The dispatcher can transmit MMS to first responder vehicles on the way to an incident, increasing situational awareness. SMS is useful in noisy emergency environments when a caller cannot be heard. Technology Highlight: Positron Positron’s Emergency Communication and Collaboration Platform integrates with Cisco Unified Communications Manager to enable PSAPs to accept citizen communications by VoIP, video, email or SMS messaging. It integrates easily with existing equipment and can scale as communications volume increases. For more information, visit: www.positron911.com Alarming Points Placed in strategic locations in public or private spaces, alarming points allow citizens to directly access an operational room in the event of an emergency. When activated, the alarm point can either call a predefined number and transmit a prerecorded voice message, or establish a two-way communication between the citizen and the PSAP operator, acting like an intercom. One example of alarming points are the emergency buttons, sometimes called panic buttons, in metro stations, along the highway, and in elevators. Alarming points can also be installed in vehicles to send an alert in the event of an impact. The European Commission and the industry have agreed to equip all new vehicles with eCall alarm systems beginning in 2010. When an accident occurs, the module automatically calls a 112 PSAP and transmits details about the accident and the vehicle’s location, using a built-in geographic positioning system (GPS) and an integrated subscriber identity module (SIM) card or a connected cell phone. The PSAP then forwards the location information to an emergency vehicle by satellite. The U.S. has a similar service called OnStar. Authority-to-Citizen Interaction During emergencies, authorities must be able to quickly reach all citizens affected by a safety or security event and to provide instructions