Ojo Technology Provides “Eyes” To Major Law Enforcement Exercise

Considered to be the largest emergency readiness training event of its type in the United States, Urban Shield involves more than 1,000 participants from international, federal, state, county and city agencies. The event is organized by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, which coordinates volunteers from both the public and private sectors.

Over the course of 48 hours, teams from law enforcement, fire and EMS agencies respond to more than two-dozen simulated scenarios, which can include domestic terrorist attacks, sabotage, hostage threats, major disasters and other emergencies. These teams are required to use their training and resources to execute timely and effective responses, with the goal of saving lives and improving multi-agency coordination.

Working with the Fremont Police Department, which created and administered a hostage scenario at the former NUMMI automotive plant in Fremont, Ojo Technology installed 16 video surveillance cameras for a timed exercise. The challenge presented to the police SWAT and fire department teams was to execute a simultaneous, multi-agency assault on three buildings.

With large monitors at the command center, officials and observers could watch live video of each team in action, using all 16 cameras simultaneously. They could also experiment with the Video Management Software (VMS), reviewing video clips, enlarging specific camera views or pausing to discuss the tactics deployed in one or more areas.

“Ojo Technology has a strong commitment to Urban Shield, and we are delighted to contribute our engineering know-how and resources to an event that has such broad importance to the well-being of our communities and our country,” said Ojo CEO Angie Wong. “Clearly, technology is playing a larger role in the ability of first responders to practice their tactical skills and to deal with a variety of threats. And these exercises allow us to showcase the high resolution and versatility of IP-based digital surveillance cameras.”