By Mark Anderko – Sr. Director of Program Operations for Mutualink Operationalization by definition is the process of making something functional by putting something into effect.  To further understand this definition, we must understand what the word effect means in this context. Effect – A change which is the result or consequence of an action […]

Wallingford, CT – The IJIS Institute awarded its 2016 Innovation Award to Intel, Mutualink and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s for “The Internet of Public Safety Things: Urban Shield Results”. This exciting area of emerging public safety technology is transforming the ways that first responder teams interoperate to accomplish their missions.
“On behalf of Sheriff Munks and our partners at Intel, we are extremely honored to receive the 2016 Innovation Award from the IJIS Institute,” said Mark Hatten, CEO, Mutualink. “We collaborated with the goal of equipping the next generation of first responders with interconnected technology that can ultimately save lives in emergency scenarios. Sheriff Munks and his team demonstrated that the Wearable Smart Gateway, our first entry in the Internet of Public Safety Things category, is indeed a game-changer for the public safety community.”

Most law enforcement and emergency responders will agree the single most important factor after a catastrophic event is maintaining order, providing aid and restoring stable, effective communications in the field, which becomes a monumental task when traditional power is unavailable. In early 2013, the Harris County Sheriff Office Mobile Command Unit met to analyze the deficiencies of existing equipment and formulated a plan for comprehensive technological updates.

Recognizing budgetary limitations, grant funding was sought for these necessary upgrades. The Federal Department of Justice agreed to allow the Sheriff’s Office to use a portion of existing Justice Assistance Grant funding to support the technological updates recommended by the Mobile Command team. Over the next ten months, the Mobile Communications Unit received a massive technology “face-lift” that included some very notable enhancements that brought this Unit into the forefront of public safety mobile communications.