Pittsburgh-area chief weighs in on new 911 camera sharing technology
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- From schools to hospitals to parks and shops, new technology could provide situational awareness for emergency call centers and first responders.
From the high school and middle school to three primary schools, Shaler Police Chief Sean Frank says he's always prepping for emergencies.
"The bulk of the Shaler Area School District is in Shaler Township and then the next thing is our houses of worship. We have several different denominations, and we work closely with all of them with emergency preparedness," Frank said.
That's why he's open to any new technology that gets information to his officers fast.
"Yes, we're very interested in that. I'm not sure that we've spoken to the vendor that you're talking about, but we would definitely like to explore that," Frank said.
Eagle Eye Networks just launched 911 camera sharing, to give 911 dispatch centers instant access to security cameras in the event of an emergency. Frank says his officers do already get access to a school feed, but he's open to this new tech.
"The school district is very proactive. They do have a camera system in place and they share the feed with us. So we're able to do that from our station right now and hopefully to our mobiles in the very near future."
This new technology aims to help first responders to anticipate and prepare before arriving at an emergency. If the cameras from inside a school or church can route to the 911 call center, dispatchers can tell police what they're seeing and hearing before officers breach the doors to confront a suspect.
"They can give those first responders a lot more information so that they can go in much more prepared and know exactly what they're gonna face, and they will get better outcomes because of that," said Dean Drako, the CEO of Eagle Eye Networks.
Drako says while there's no one in Pittsburgh using the tech yet, he's already integrated the camera tech with 17,000 911 call centers nationwide.
Schools, churches or large office buildings can even add the tech feature to their existing cameras.
And Drako says privacy is top of mind, so the camera access would only be shared at the time of an emergency.
Frank said as technology continues to advance, it only better prepares his officers.
"It's a very stressful feeling when that happens. And yes, having some eyes ahead of us would be very good," Frank said.
