Emergency Notification System Provides Alerts For Louisiana Courts

For two courts in Louisiana, a newly-installed emergency alert system from AtHoc will provide  notifications in response to a wide variety of events.

The Louisiana Supreme Court and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal are both located in a recently restored, historic courthouse in the French Quarter of New Orleands. The two courts first were looking for separate emergency alert systems, but then decided to focus on one system to handle both operations’ needs separately and together when needed.

The network-centric system consists of AtHoc’s IWSAlerts, which contain a virtual private system for both courts along with the Louisiana Judicial Administrator’s Office housed in the same building. The setup enables both courts to send alerts to personnel while allowing the security team in the building to alert every employee in the building, if needed.

The system can be used to warn employees about a wide range of situations including extreme weather, facility outages, fires and criminal acts of violence. When the system is activated, a message pops up on users’ computer desktops, providing details about the emergency and instructions on what to do next in the situation.

“We purchased AtHoc IWSAlerts notification system, as it greatly improved our pre-existing telephone and paging systems,” said Tommy Anderson, director of security for the Louisiana Supreme Court. “We can now reach all personnel in the courts on their desktops in an average of one minute. Other delivery means also are used to ensure broad reach, including SMS text messaging and phone calls. When an emergency occurs, triggering an alert from a single console and achieving that type of response time is critical.”

Both courts began looking for emergency warning systems in response to recent events, including Hurricane Katrina. Administrators from both courts wanted the ability for multiple personnel to concurrently manage and trigger alerts from a Web browser, whether in the building or remote, while reaching employees via their desktop PCs, office phones, cell phones and BlackBerrys.

“Louisiana has had more than its fair share of emergency scenarios in the past few years, and the judiciary system is taking proactive steps to help protect court personnel as well as the general public,” said Simon Berman, vice president of product marketing for AtHoc. “They have implemented a state-of-the-art warning system, which will ensure quick notification and response when it matters most -- when something can still be done to protect people.”

About the Author

Brent Dirks is senior editor for Security Today and Campus Security Today magazines.

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