The FINANCIAL — Every time the emergency and police phone numbers are dialed within the city of São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil, the municipality is ready to act and dispatch the needed services. Whether a fire, road accident, crime or natural disaster, the caller in distress will receive prompt support and lives can be saved. To be able to meet the required response times and handle all types of complex situations, the Brazilian city of São José dos Campos selected an emergency response system developed by Ericsson.
In addition to the emergency response system, the partnership between Ericsson and the municipality of São José dos Campos also includes a managed services agreement to locally support and manage the platform at the Integrated Operations Center, a connected video solution, 100 miles of fiber optic cable, and systems integration of software. This is the first managed services contract for Ericsson in the public safety sector within Latin America, according to Ericsson.
São José dos Campos is the first city in Brazil to have its traffic and municipal guard communications systems connected through Ericsson’s Emergency Response system – a complete and flexible solution that integrates telephone, radio, data, video and image communications systems wherever constant access and availability are essential, allowing users to control and communicate urgent information quickly and efficiently, thereby helping to save lives, improve public safety and manage public services.
Since 2012, when the city started to invest in the implementation of a Smart City project the number of events handled by the Integrated Operations Center increased 15.5%, contributing more effectively to real-time protection of people and public buildings. In 2014, 1,542 incidents were observed compared to 1,335 in the previous year.
In addition, homicide rates are down in the city since the Integrated Operations Center’s creation. Official data from the Secretary of State for Public Security notes that after the municipality’s investment in ICT equipment for safety and security, the homicide rate went down from 10.21 to 8.29 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.
Elvis de Jesus, Integrated Operations Center Coordinator and Regional Inspector of Municipal Civil Guard of São José dos Campos, says: “Crime and emergency response times are down because we decided to invest in high-tech safety and security equipment. Government bodies want to provide the services their citizens need and make sure our society is safe for everyone.”
Orvar Hurtig, Head of Industry & Society, Ericsson, says: “Technological evolution also puts demands on governments to keep up with the increasing needs of citizens. In the world of public safety, response time and access to critical information is essential. That is why we are seeing more and more cities investing in equipment and tools to save lives and protect property. Our aim at Ericsson is always to use our technology to build a networked society where citizens feel safe.”
Worldwide, emergency services receive a massive volume of daily calls, and many lives depend on their response speed. Thus, emergency operations need resources and tools that can assist in decision making in real time. São José dos Campos is no different from any global city: the Integrated Operations Center managed 50,000 happenings last year that were both informed via telephone calls or monitored by officers within the center. These events range from simple investigation of unprotected person, fire, accidents, administrative offenses to crimes against life and property.
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