How Internet of Things Is Transforming Public Safety
Use Case 1: BYOD for Police Officers
The Internet of Things refers to connecting currently unconnected people and things, and it's transforming public safety. This blog explains how police officers can securely use commercial smartphones and tablets in the field. Future blogs will describe other ways to use the Internet of Things to improve communications, collaboration, and operations.
Police officers are clamoring to use their iPhones, iPads, and Android devices for work. For law-enforcement agencies, allowing bring-your-own-device (BYOD) is appealing because it can save money, and mobile apps for law enforcement improve situational awareness.
Until now, two things have stopped police departments from allowing BYOD. One isgovernance. To use smartphones and tablets for incident response, departments need a way to enforce standard operating procedures. Lacking this, the NYPD recently had to remind officers to use radios instead of smartphones for official communications. Here's the article in theNew York Post.
The other block to BYOD is that smartphones and tablets haven't been able to connect to conventional land-mobile radio (LMR) networks. It's a safe bet that LMR networks will be around for a long time because of their reliability.
Making BYOD Work for Law Enforcement
The good news is that with the right technology, officers can securely use iOS and Android mobile devices on the job. And departments don't have to change their existing dispatch operations or their LMR networks to make BYOD work. The solution has four pieces:
More Flexible Communications Doesn't Need to Cost More
The Internet of Everything approach can actually cost less than a straight radio network. One reason is that commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) mobile devices can provide many of the same capabilities as more expensive digital radios. Support costs can also decrease because Cisco provides end-to-end support for Internet of Things solutions built from products from Cisco and our ecosystem partners.
In summary, with the right governance, BYOD can be a boon for public safety, improving situational awareness and relieving budgets. To securely allow mobile devices, you need the right broadband network, Cisco IPICS, and well-selected mobile apps.
To learn more please visit, Cisco Internet of Things, and www.cisco.com/go/ipics.