Warwick Schools Switch On ‘Emergency Only’ Live Video, Radio Surveillance System

WARWICK, RI — Warwick Public Schools can now alert police and fire personnel to emergencies, simultaneously activating real-time video and radio surveillance of the buildings with the integrated services of Mutualink  and Rave Mobile Safety, costing $39,738 annually.

The system was switched on Thursday night following a live demonstration with a mock intruder call at Oakland Beach Elementary School for a man with a rifle inside the building.  Attending the demo were Superintendent of Warwick Schools Philip Thornton, Mayor Scott Avedisian, MutalLink executives, Fire Chief James McLaughlin, Warwick Police, City Council members Stephen McAllister, Donna Travis and Joseph Solomon.

Warwick Police conducted the drill inside the school, which began with the push of a physical panic button set up by Rave, which all schools now have installed following last year’s $378,255 appropriation to set up Mutualink’s platform connecting a network of video cameras, walkie-talkies, 911 alert system and Warwick Public Schools’ internet connection.

Teachers and staff can also activate the system, which lies dormant until triggered, using a smartphone app that is geo-locked so it can only be used from inside their schools. The cameras are not otherwise active, said Jeff Kelly, director of field training at the Wallingford, CT -based Mutuallink.

Kelly ran the simulation from a table in the School Committee meeting room at the Warwick Public Schools administration building, 34 Warwick Lake Ave.

As the alert from the panic button sounded, Kelly began opening video feeds of the situation inside Oakland Beach Elementary, showing a man in black wielding a rifle in the school’s hallway, then, shortly after, cut to a separate image of the officers assessing the subdued mock intruder, prone on the floor.

As the video continued, audio from walkie-talkies and police radio from inside the building were also broadcast over the system.

The same information is provided to Warwick Police dispatchers when someone pushes the panic button in the school or on their phone apps, Kelly said.

With the benefit of video of a situation inside a building, and radio coordination with officers and staff inside, the time to resolve a given emergency can be reduced by fifty percent.

McLaughlin said the video allows firefighters to reach people much quicker, since they can head straight to where an injured person is during an emergency, and won’t have to search through a building first.

Warwick Police, Warwick Fire, the Warwick Mall and Kent County Memorial Hospital have been using the system for the last four years.

Colin McWay, president of Mutualink, said the network operates by combining many separate data feeds, including radio, video, 4G mobile data. “So it’s very difficult to take this down because there’s not a central part to it,” he said.

Thornton said he saw a demonstration of the system when he started in Warwick. “I loved it when I saw it and wanted to get it here,” Thornton said.

“Warwick’s teachers and first responders are in closer contact,” said Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, “Rave Mobile Safety integrating with Mutualink improves the safety of our community by reducing the time to incident resolution. When first responders have voice, video and data information before arriving on site, the outcome is better for all concerned.”