The Role of GIS and Mapping Technology in Emergency Response
By: Greg Wandrei
As seen in: Law Enforcement Technology Magazine
Friday, September 28, 2007
Every incident called in to a 9-1-1 Communication Center is associated with a real world location where people need help. Immediate location awareness for dispatch and first responders during an incident can often mean the difference between life and death. The dispatcher and first responders must instantly know where the caller is in relation to their surroundings and collect information to make fast decisions. Today, the majority of law enforcement agencies use some degree of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)/mapping technology to locate callers and provide first responders with critical information before arriving on scene. Although GIS capabilities can vary greatly between agencies, one thing remains the same – the more information readily available and clearly visible, the faster the response.
The use of GIS in law enforcement is nothing new. For years GIS has provided agencies with call location and incident analysis. However, in recent years GIS has evolved to provide significantly more information to improve safety and answer important questions during an emergency. Powerful mapping tools including GPS, Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) and aerial imagery have further enhanced the amount of information available to dispatchers during an active incident. The location of fire hydrants, critical infrastructure, physical land features and the location of officers in the field is readily available to dispatchers. GIS makes it possible for dispatchers and first responders to immediately recognize spatial relationships, helping them make better decisions when time is a crucial factor.
In response to growing industry needs, providers of public safety software are investing to incorporate the latest GIS technologies and capabilities into their solutions. Public safety software has evolved to be more ‘map centric’, providing officers on patrol, 911 dispatchers, investigators and Fire/EMS teams unprecedented access to vital information that previously was unavailable. There is a broad range of valuable location information that can be accessed through a centralized GIS database, including:
Building Floor Plans, Alarm Codes
Prior Incidents
Known Offenders, Registered Sex Offenders or Arrest Warrants associated with an address
Medical Information such as Alzheimer’s patient or handicapped
Property Owner or Business Contact Information
Permits Issued by the City or County for Firearms, Alarms, Hazardous Materials, etc.
This creates a complete emergency response solution that combines historical data from a records management system with feature-rich maps that are accessible in real time through Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) software. Through CAD, dispatchers can quickly access valuable information, such as floor plans, hazardous materials lists and pre-plan information, directly from the map through the use of hyperlinks. To a dispatcher and officer in the field, the wealth of instant information available through the use of GIS can be an invaluable tool.
The importance of GIS in emergency response can be better understood by exploring how agencies across the country use GIS technology to improve their ability to respond to emergencies.
Breaking the Silos of Critical Information
GIS and mapping capabilities have grown from being a niche technology used by planning and public works departments. Public safety and law enforcement professionals now recognize the substantial benefits of using GIS as one of their primary tools. However, there has been a history of creating and storing GIS data into multiple and separate data silos by the many departments within local government. The information kept in these many GIS silos can prove to be invaluable to law enforcement. For example, Human Services may keep a listing of Alzheimer’s patients’ addresses. The Court likely has a listing of addresses where Civil Papers have been issued or where registered sex offenders reside. The Road Commission maintains a schedule of road closures and ongoing road construction projects. The Fire Department maintains substantial information about commercial buildings, including floor plans, alarm codes, evacuation routes and on-premise hazardous materials.
A significant improvement in GIS technology now allows these silos of GIS data to be shared with each other in near real time. This provides first responders a never-before-available view of critical information before they arrive at a scene. Prior to this advancement, important GIS data has been unavailable to those people who can benefit from it the most.
Real World: Simple Map Proves Invaluable
In the middle of a cold winter night a 9-1-1 call is received at a communications center in an affluent suburb of Chicago. A woman reports a suspicious vehicle parked across the street from her house. She tells the dispatcher that there appears to be multiple individuals entering and exiting the vehicle, and she reports having seen it circle the block several times. Officers are dispatched to the area. The dispatcher is able to direct the responding officers to the vehicle in an unfamiliar neighborhood with directions from their embedded GIS map within CAD. As the officers pull up to the suspicious vehicle, a person flees on foot and another is found hiding in the car. One of the responding officers pursues the fleeing individual and the other stays behind to wait for back-up.
Back in the communications center a second 9-1-1 call has come in from a resident who says he has been tied up in his basement by unknown subjects. The dispatcher taking the call instinctively looks to the CAD map to identify the exact location of this incident. The dispatcher can clearly see that this second incident has taken place just around the block from the location of the suspicious vehicle. This discovery immediately changes the dynamic of the first call. The officers already at the scene of the suspicious vehicle are notified that the two incidents are likely related and to be on the lookout for more suspects in the area. Within minutes, the dispatcher is able to direct additional units to set up an effective perimeter in the area, which ultimately leads to the capture and arrest of several of the fleeing suspects.
Access to GIS directly within CAD gives dispatchers an advantage when guiding officers in the field by offering a bigger picture of the surrounding area. In this case, the ability to see the layout of the land during an active incident enabled the dispatcher to recognize the connection between the two incidents, allowing the dispatcher to make fast decisions and immediately alert officers in the area. The first responders at this scene were limited by their personal knowledge of that area, but the dispatcher visualizing the entire scene through a CAD map, was able to provide enough information about the layout of the neighborhood to guide officers through unfamiliar terrain and aid in the set-up of a successful perimeter.
Growing Wireless World & Satellites
A new challenge for emergency response personnel arose with the introduction and mainstream use of cellular phones. In 2000, nearly one third of all 911 calls placed originated from cell phones, and the number continues to grow. It is critical for agencies to be able to locate a wireless caller who is unaware of or unable to describe his location. Mapping tools, including GPS and Phase II technology, have become a critical tool that dispatchers rely on. These technologies enable the location of a cellular call to be found on a map with relative certainty. Using latitude and longitude information sent from a cellular phone, different technologies can locate the caller; in most cases, within meters of the actual location on the CAD map.
Another important use of GPS location technology is the ability to provide real-time location of units on duty. Many agencies today have deployed AVL to allow incident managers to quickly see where units are in relation to incidents. GIS software can also provide estimated response times for units based on constraints such as speed limits, traffic patterns and rivers or bridges. This capability, coupled with in-car mapping technology, provides field personnel with a complete view of active incidents.
Real World: Making Sense of Large Unpopulated Areas
GIS and Phase II technology are particularly important in rural regions of New Mexico. Responsible for a county that measures 5,600 square miles, a 9-1-1 Center uses Phase II technology, combined with geographical features to locate callers. Not long after the county adopted Phase II technology, their 9-1-1 Center received a call for help from a man who had been assaulted and needed medical attention.
The perpetrators had driven the victim through rural back roads and dropped him off in an unfamiliar location. Receiving latitude and longitude coordinates through Phase II cellular technology, the dispatcher was able to determine his location within the county and quickly send help to the injured man. The dispatcher saved valuable time by using Phase II and GIS to immediately locate the victim on a rural back road, enabling a faster and more accurate response. Without the use of GIS technology the dispatcher would have spent precious time conducting a much longer examination of the victim’s location, potentially allowing his condition to worsen.
The county uses the same GIS technology to combat drunk driving. With the help of effective state-wide campaigns, the 9-1-1 Center has been receiving more calls to report suspected drunk drivers. Often the callers are on the move and unsure of their exact location. In this situation, Phase II technology becomes an invaluable tool that allows the dispatcher to locate the caller, and in some cases, even track them in real time as they move by re-bidding the call. The ability to constantly monitor the location of the caller allows the dispatcher to make fast decisions and give first responders turn-by-turn directions to locate the suspected drunk driver.
Real World: More detail in the middle of nowhere
In some cases dispatchers must locate a caller and guide them to safety. This means the dispatcher must have all of the necessary details and full access to a view of the entire scene as quickly as possible. Oblique aerial imagery offers additional GIS tools to dispatchers in the form of three-dimensional-like images of an area with key details, including whether a building is made of brick or concrete, how many stories a building is, how deep a ravine is, or the acreage of a wooded area. By having access to oblique aerial imagery directly within the CAD map, a dispatcher can better analyze a scene by measuring distance, angles and height of physical features specifically the slope of a ravine. Access to this information quickly proved valuable for one county dispatcher in New York.
In this county, a hunter was lost in a rural wooded area. His dog was trapped at the bottom of a ravine with 300-foot walls, and his attempts to retrieve the dog forced him to carefully climb to the bottom. The hunter ended up being trapped at the bottom of the ravine and used his cellular phone to call 9-1-1 for help.
At the county Communications Center the dispatcher responding to the hunter’s call used Phase II technology to plot the hunter’s location. The dispatcher soon realized that the hunter was in a very remote area - far away from any roads - and more information was needed to locate and guide the hunter to safety. Using oblique aerial imagery from within CAD, the dispatcher was able to recognize specific landmarks. The dispatcher then asked the hunter questions about physical features in the area and compared them to the landmarks on his CAD map to determine the hunter’s exact location. As the hunter described features, including a heavily wooded area and the shape of the ravine walls near him, the dispatcher was able to see the exact location on an oblique aerial image.
The dispatcher used built-in data analysis tools to measure contour lines and assess the area for a location where both the hunter and dog could safely walk out of the ravine. After a few minutes, the dispatcher established that the ravine walls were angled steeply for miles and decided to direct the hunter to a safer location at the bottom of the ravine to wait for rescuers. The dispatcher, using the detailed three-dimensional map of the scene, located a flat island in shallow water at the bottom of the ravine. He directed the hunter to this island, guiding him away from all hazardous areas. After reaching the island, the dispatcher directed the man to an area where the slope of the land provided a safe place for him to walk his way out of the ravine where rescue personnel were waiting.
Quick Access to More Information
In all of these situations, the dispatcher was faced with difficult questions that could only be answered with a complete understanding of each scene. Where is the victim calling from? How will I direct first responders to the scene? What obstacles do the responders and the caller need to be aware of? These questions were answered using GIS and mapping technology accessed directly through Computer Aided Dispatch software. The quick and easy visual display of each location provided dispatchers with immediate answers to make fast decisions.
Some public safety software providers, like New World Systems, are successfully working to make it easier for dispatchers to answer these questions and more, by embedding GIS information into CAD for immediate spatial awareness. A CAD map is capable of much more than identifying the location of a call if GIS is integrated directly with the emergency response software.
Imagine if the dispatcher who helped the officers responding to the suspicious vehicle needed to move to a separate computer or open a new application to access a separate map. Valuable time would have been lost that may have allowed the criminals responsible for trapping the victim in the basement to escape. Having a CAD solution with embedded advanced GIS capabilities allowed the dispatcher to access all of the mission critical information from within one application. Embedded GIS allows dispatchers and first responders to access data from within their records management system through CAD as well. When a call comes in to a communications center, vital location details are immediately available through the map including, residents, prior history, registered firearms and more because of this integration. As GIS and mapping technologies continue to advance, even more information will become available to dispatchers through integration with public safety software.
Incidents in progress cannot wait for responders to have perfect information. The ability to recognize spatial relationships immediately often leads to the most effective and successful responses. GIS used successfully with leading public safety software will continue to offer the speed and performance needed to respond when seconds matter.
For press inquiries, contact: New World Systems
Marketing Department
888 West Big Beaver Road
Troy, Michigan 48084
Phone: 248.269.1000
Fax: 248.269.1020 www.newworldsystems.com info@newworldsystems.com
