Technology often develops faster than we can get our arms around. But when it’s the right tool and actually built correctly, the onboarding process can be a breeze. And when it comes to a first responder communication solution, what you really need is something that’s both intuitive to use and secure.
Public messaging apps and emails have never really been as fast and effective as they need to be when communicating with your force. Moreover, they can often make matters worse. These communication options offer no protection against federal and state-level public records laws, and that puts your people and agency at risk.
The Problems with Agency Communication Today
It doesn’t take more than a simple Google search to see all the ways public messaging apps have gone wrong for first-responder communication. SMS alone isn’t encrypted and is easily hacked, which means that the software developers at your carrier could have the ability to read your messages. Critical intelligence could also be forwarded, copied, and captured in screenshots. To put it simply, if you or your team are using SMS or apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Slack, or Teams for interagency communication, you’re in violation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Fortunately, there’s finally a solution to share intel with your team that’s compliant, instant, and scalable. When you use Genasys Protect CONNECT, you get the peace of mind that your agency is meeting the FOIA requirements by preventing the deletion of data, utilizing cloud infrastructure, and maintaining security certifications. In addition to these security measures, CONNECT offers a variety of other benefits too.
It’s Time for an Easier, Streamlined Process
CONNECT gives you all of the benefits of texting without security concerns. But it doesn’t stop there. You also get a clean, organized platform that breaks into three crucial communication features: agency contacts, team rooms, and agency-wide rooms.
The agency contacts function works like direct messaging. It gives you the ability to have interagency and interdepartmental communication instantaneously. There’s also the peace of mind that comes from knowing that the communication and data shared begin and end with that contact. Because CONNECT has built-in security that’s specifically designed for first responders and law enforcement, there’s no risk of copying, forwarding, or capturing screenshots.
Team rooms give you the added benefit of group chats. Here, any officer can post or share communication bulletins and intelligence relevant to their beat. That way, they’re keeping officers up-to-date with the latest information from previous shifts. Dispatch announcements, department notices, and department broadcasts are all immediately available, which helps keep first-responder communication clean, clear, and immediate.
Finally, agency-wide rooms work to send emergency alerts, activate disaster responses, and even send health and safety information in less than a second. The agency-wide rooms can also be used as an all-call for executives, keeping first responders prepared for disaster. Law enforcement agencies and fire department agencies can instantly share announcements and get the right intelligence out as soon as it’s available.
Does Your Agency Need a Leg Up?
CONNECT puts the needs of first responders first. Because we understand the real-world challenges agencies are facing, we’ve been able to create a communication tool that offers true security, urgency, and a sense of control in the face of any emergency.
That being said, we also know the value of keeping chats clean and organized. Unlike texting, if at any point errant information is accidentally sent, a message can be immediately redacted, unlike traditional texting. All the while, every message will still be timestamped and saved to the cloud to maintain compliance and prevent this feature from being misused.
While an employee can remove a message or post, no employee can permanently delete or destroy data within CONNECT. Furthermore, because all information exchanged is stored in the cloud, not even the disappearance or withholding of a personal device will prevent the ability to recover all data or comply with an audit, as needed.
There are plenty of reasons why CONNECT has become the missing link for streamlined and secure agency communication. When you’re ready to learn more, please don’t hesitate to reach out to learn more or schedule a demo!
