"A Thank You from the Presidential Inauguration" Continued from page 1

The value of Mutualink was roundly recognized among the various law enforcement agencies, and its actual use served to reinforce its benefits. Sharing one case with you, a participating agency was able to notify another agency of an incident within its jurisdictional footprint and communicate key information to its dispatch center. When it was reported, the dispatch operator was surprised asking “how did you guys know that before us?” Of course, as public safety professionals know, the answer is interoperable communications capability is a significant force multiplier.

While all of us at Mutualink are proud of our accomplishments at the inauguration, we offer our special thanks and most sincere appreciation to our Mutualink users and supporters who, with great vision, leadership and insight, enthusiastically continue to encourage its growing adoption and use. As with any community, we cannot succeed without the collaborative support of our friends and partners.

December and January brought 6 new agencies into the Roll Call program. Welcome Berlin Public Schools, Cromwell Police and Fire Departments, Michael Stapleton Associates, Rocky Hill Police Department and Stamford Hospital.

Organization	City	D2D	D2D-R	D2D-M	3DM	Total Roll Calls
Berlin Public Schools	Berlin, CT	1	1	-	-	5
Cromwell Fire Department	Cromwell, CT	1	6	-	-	7
Cromwell Police Department	Cromwell, CT	1	5	-	-	6
Jersey City Office of Emergency Management	Jersey City, NJ	2	1	-	-	3
Michael Stapleton Associates	New York, NY	1	2	2	1	6
Newark Arena - Prudential Center	Newark, NJ	3	8	-	1	12
Newark Police Department	Newark, NJ	5	12	-	5	22
Northwest Bergen Central Dispatch	Ridgewood, NJ	11	9	8	1	29
Palisades Park Police Department	Palisades Park, NJ	9	10	-	3	22
Paramus Police Department	Paramus, NJ	12	7	-	5	24
Rocky Hill Police Department	Rocky Hill, CT	-	1	-	-	1
Sonitrol Communications	Rocky Hill, CT	-	15	11	-	26
Stamford Hospital	Stamford, CT	-	1	-	-	1
Trenton Police Department	Trenton, NJ	4	9	-	7	20
UMDNJ - University of Medicine & Dentistry of NJ	Newark, NJ	6	11	-	5	22

D2D - Dispatch to dispatch D2D-R - Dispatch to dispatch with field radios	D2D-M - Dispatch to dispatch with multi-media sharing 3DM - 3 or more dispatch participants with multi-media sharing

"NIMS Implementation Activities for Schools and Higher Education Institutions’ presents a set of key school and campus emergency management activities that will enhance the relationship between schools and campuses, their respective local governments, and their community partners as they communicate, collaborate, and coordinate on these NIMS activities."

US Dept. of Education Announcement – NIMS Implementation Activities For Schools and Higher Education Institutions

In central Connecticut, steps are being taken to establish comprehensive communications interoperability between schools and local public safety response assets. The Rocky Hill, CT. Police Department, Cromwell, CT. Police and Fire Departments, and Berlin High School and Berlin, CT. Police Department have deployed Mutualink’s communication resource sharing platform, enabling seamless, real-time interoperable communications among all of the network participants. This effort is a major step towards an emergency preparedness and response communications capability that meets the collaborative “all disciplines, all hazards” approach established under the National Response Framework (NRF), and enabling a National Incident Management System (NIMS) compliant environment with an institutionalized and operational understanding of the Incident Command System (ICS).

Schools of all levels are encouraged to be ready to handle emergencies, and the US Department of Education (ED) has issued important guidance to assist educators and administrators in implementing NIMS compliant preparedness and response programs. As part of its effort, ED has established the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance Center. The REMS resource center can guide schools in emergency preparedness activities and also assist them with funding applications under the ED Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) and Emergency Management for Higher Education (EMHE) Discretionary Grant Program.

In addition to the programmatic drive to achieve a higher state of preparedness and response readiness, the practical imperative interoperable communications between public safety agencies and schools as a pragmatic step to improved safety has been further magnified over the past decade by a series of high-profile tragic events such as the ones that occurred at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech University. In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy, the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) published an analysis and blueprint for safer campuses. In this report, the IACLEA reaffirmed the importance of interoperable communications for effective critical incident response.

In preparation for the operational deployment and use of Mutualink between the schools and police and fire departments, personnel at Berlin High School and Berlin Police Department have worked with Mutualink on completing FEMA Incident Command System, ICS-100 certification. In January, all participants will begin taking part in routine check-in exercises. We invite your jurisdiction to take the next step in making community-wide emergency preparedness and response a reality.

Below, we have compiled a guide of key Emergency Management and Response resources for schools and higher education institutions.

NIMS & Emergency Management Related Resources for Schools:

Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) and Emergency Management for Higher Education (EMHE) Discretionary Grant Program

US Department of Education – Emergency Management for Schools

US Department of Education- NIMS Implementation Activities for Schools and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)

Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance Center

The Idaho Emergency Operation Planning Guide For Safe and Secure Schools*

*Editor’s Note – a wonderfully concise and well organized web guide for school administrators and emergency personnel.