Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) 911 Communications Center in Putnam County, Florida, integration of EMMA with SmartCop Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) software allows for Alyssa’s Law compliance and will lead to improved safety and saving lives.
Palatka, Florida — August 3, 2021 Putnam County Florida has successfully launched a school safety mobile application and software system called EMMA that is integrated with the Putnam County 911 dispatch communication center. Putnam County uses a 911 dispatch software system provided by SmartCop, called SmartCAD. In under a second, a button press on EMMA will provide alert notifications to public safety officials and the dispatch software. EMMA is a mobile and PC-friendly application that allows connected devices of the school and staff to send alerts and improve communication plus ensure the 911 dispatch communications center is included in alerting. EMMA is designed as a comprehensive public safety system that can be used for virtually any situation or threat where it is necessary to protect and communicate efficiently. EMMA has a full offering of prevention, response, and management features for very critical emergencies or everyday communications that impact the staff and students in Putnam County, Florida’s county-wide school district.
“EMMA integrates seamlessly into our 911 public safety communications center for more effective first response and emergency management. EMMA’s integration with our SmartCop dispatch software improves knowledge and communication with an instant alert. The alert goes not only to our 911 center dispatch software but instantly is pushed to our public safety officers via their in-car mobile CAD terminals (MCT) to improve response times and eliminate or significantly decrease threat impact. We are pleased with how SmartCop and EMMA worked together to complete our needs.“
Captain Kuleski — Putnam County 911 Communications Bureau Chief
Of note is that with the successful integration of SmartCop and EMMA, Putnam County is the most recent school district in Florida to comply with Florida’s Alyssa’s Law https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/70. According to recent data, approximately 35% of school districts in Florida have yet to achieve compliance and successful 911 integration with mobile panic alert systems.
Alyssa’s Alert, synonymously aligned with Alyssa’s Law, is legislation (and pending legislation) that aims to improve the response time of law enforcement during emergencies in public schools — is the designation of a mobile panic alert system capable of connecting diverse emergency services technologies to ensure real-time coordination between multiple first responder agencies. All such systems must integrate with local public safety answering point infrastructure to transmit 911 calls and mobile activations. With this partnership, SmartCop is Alyssa’s Law compatible for the dispatch center panel. However, a unique offering is that SmartCop automatically pushes the EMMA alert instantly to all public safety officer devices for improved arrival of feet on the ground without human or dispatcher delayed delivery and the alert. includes accurate GPS location details, without cell tower triangulation delays, as well as the address and campus description plus other key data regarding the threat.
“Making Minutes Matter” isn’t just a tagline for Think Safe, the company that developed EMMA — Emergency Management Mobile Application. It’s what EMMA does. The unforgettable tragedy that took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018, was a driving force behind the new Florida legislation. Lori and Ilan Alhadeff, parents of Alyssa Alhadeff – a victim in the mass shooting, made it their mission to create and drive a culture of safety and vigilance in a secure school environment via their non-profit, Make Our Schools Safe. EMMA aligns well with “Make Our Schools Great” initiatives: POWER (Preparedness, Observation, Willingness to Act, Education, Response).
Targeted alerts and responses can occur in a defined geographic area of the school district through the GPS geofencing and mapping feature within EMMA’s unique notification system. This allows only those in an impacted area to get the alerts versus often ineffective mass alerts across large geography that are not relevant. In addition, those receiving alerts can also respond, which is over and above any capability of the US 911 Wireless Emergency Alert Network and current technology of dispatch centers. EMMA provides significant upgrades to public safety officials, over and above the required Alyssa’s Law requirements. This feature ensures proper additional communication spreads to others that need to take action immediately, without cell tower or potential overburdened 911 call system delays.
“We believe that getting information quickly and efficiently into the hands of public safety responders is critical to resolving issues peacefully. The implementation at Putnam County of EMMA and SmartCOP ensures that first responders have critical, decision-making information as soon as it is available.”
Michael Snyder, Director of Sales and Marketing for SmartCop
EMMA was developed by Think Safe as a system that solved a long-standing problem of client emergency communication at workplaces and schools, especially across large geographic areas and populations. Think Safe’s data analysis of workplace and school medical and other emergencies led Company President, Paula Wickham, to question why smart devices and PCs could not be utilized more effectively to solve this problem. “Time is precious, seconds and minutes matter. This is especially true in emergency events or threats and reliance on only using a smartphone to dial 911 is inefficient. That smart device and connected PCs are valuable tools that can be part of the solution if we engage updated software technology, which keeps overhead and capital expenditures down while improving security and safety. EMMA was designed as a best practice solution where clients can customize the features and icons or systems used based upon what they needed for their population and geography.”
“Putnam County Schools are pleased with our safety and security team plus administrators for their proactive and conscientious effort to provide very important safety updates to our school district. Think Safe has been an excellent partner for our school district and SmartCop has facilitated very effective communication county-wide for our improved school district safety and Alyssa’s Law compliance. Both Think Safe and SmartCop have given us one of the top alerting systems in the country and we feel that is critical but also are pleased with the expanded offering that EMMA provides our school district.”
Travis Weaver, Director of Safety at Putnam County School District
About SmartCop
SmartCOP, Inc., a privately held Florida corporation, is engaged in system development, implementation, and support services for a fully integrated suite of public safety products including Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), Records Management System (RMS), Mobile Computing with Field Based Reporting, and Jail Management System (JMS).
About Think Safe, Inc.
EMMA, developed and supported by Think Safe, Inc. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a cross-platform patented software solution with alerting, communication, and management features. Think Safe is committed to innovation and technology in the field of emergency readiness and response, owning and continually engaging in the development of patented hardware and software solutions. Think Safe products and services improve preparedness, prevention, and emergency response to quickly eliminate or shut down threats or emergencies and improve outcomes. To learn more about Think Safe and its products or services, please visit www.think-safe.com, and to find out more about EMMA go to: www.emmanotify.com.