Location tracking service for public safety agencies

Airwave UK has launched a location tracking service called Collaborate that will enable emergency services to proactively share their GPS location data using a scalable and secure national platform without having to install new hardware or software.

Collaborate is available to all UK blue light agencies, which can share real-time location data with each other on a permissions-only basis, without having to deal with the cost and challenge of installing, testing and maintaining new IT systems as it uses the existing Airwave Network and the existing Airwave service management portal.

Sussex Police is one of the first customers to use the new service: “We have worked with Airwave to develop real-time dashboards which show how often police officers return to stations during the course of a shift,” says Chief Superintendent Wayne Jones, Head of Communications Department. “This highlights opportunities for more efficient resourcing patterns, which will ensure our officers remain more visible in Sussex. In addition, we will be deploying Collaborate as part of the Sussex and Surrey ‘Blue Light Collaboration’ project, which means location information for key resources will be shared between Police Forces, Fire & Rescue Services and Ambulance Trusts.”

Airwave has invested more than £1 million in secure, big data technology for Collaborate. Real-time analysis of more than one billion records generated each month will enable more efficient, evidence-based decision-making and immediately identify opportunities for greater efficiency.

“The entire proposition is secure and designed so that customers can choose exactly what information they want to share,” says Airwave UK’s Chief Technology Officer Euros Evans. “The importance of seeing, in the control room or in the field, where resources are at all times - even those of neighbouring users - means that you can easily see which responders are the closest to an incident, match current demands, cut response times and reduce disruption.”