{"id":124382,"date":"2018-11-01T07:00:09","date_gmt":"2018-11-01T14:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=124382"},"modified":"2022-04-03T16:17:15","modified_gmt":"2022-04-03T23:17:15","slug":"illinois-state-police-adopt-real-time-gis-to-secure-state-fair","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/illinois-state-police-adopt-real-time-gis-to-secure-state-fair","title":{"rendered":"Illinois State Police Adopt Digital Apps to Secure the State Fair"},"author":5242,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[211],"tags":[4381,134022,134012,1691],"industry":[],"esri-blog-category":[478402],"esri_blog_department":[478242],"class_list":["post-124382","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-public-safety","tag-apps","tag-real-time-gis","tag-security","tag-situational-awareness","esri-blog-category-event-management","esri_blog_department-public-safety"],"acf":{"video_source":"","video_start":"","video_stop":"","short_description":"The Illinois State Police used the Illinois State Fair as a testing ground for real-time digital apps, spurring adoption in everyday operations.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":null,"file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Key Takeaways\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The Illinois State Police upgraded its paper approach to a digital solution<\/li>\r\n \t<li>App flexibility allows on-the-fly modifications to keep people safe at the State Fair<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Automated summary reports save time and secure information<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"It seems no one is immune to hostile and confrontational comments from internet trolls\u2014not even the police. Like many law enforcement agencies, the Illinois State Police deals with trolls who try to provoke individual troopers and the entire organization.\r\n\r\nWhen one troll, well-known for threats against police, posted on social media sites about plans to attend the Illinois State Fair, a text alert went out to all troopers working the event.\r\n\r\n\u201cA couple days into the fair, a trooper saw somebody acting suspiciously outside the fairgrounds,\u201d said Nicholas Gray, disaster intelligence officer at the Illinois fusion center, named the Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center (STIC). \u201cWe quickly identified this man based on the notification and photo that was entered into the dashboard earlier in the week.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe new app-based approach helped the Illinois State Police reduce known risks, as in the case of the threatening internet troll. The police are increasingly using apps in addition to their traditional radios, as a key means of communication for event security. During large public events, officers spend a lot of time identifying and restricting entry of people caught fighting, brandishing weapons, passing counterfeit money, drinking alcohol underage, and committing other illegal or disruptive offenses.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe don\u2019t normally put intel out on the radio,\u201d said State Fair Safety Commander, Lieutenant J. W. Price of the Illinois State Police. \u201cInstead, we would have a photo hanging on the wall at headquarters. With the app, we could push intel out to troopers.\u201d\r\n\r\nApps with photo and text alerts ensure that all troopers have access to shared intelligence. Adding a real-time map, with incident and trooper locations, helps them coordinate efforts much more effectively."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":140192,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<strong>Training Opportunity<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe Illinois State Police have a long history of managing security at the State Fair. The State Police Academy was located on the fairgrounds from 1922 to 1968, and rookie officers still often get their first experience working in uniform at the event.\r\n\r\nThe 11-day State Fair provides a good training ground for officers and new operational approaches. It attracts more than 30,000 attendees each day, with a lot of VIPs, including national political candidates. The fair also has a lot of areas that need security including livestock competitions, horse and auto races, parades, a carnival, events such as tractor pulls and the demolition derby, as well as rock, pop, and country concerts.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt has all the complexities of a multi-day event,\u201d said Lieutenant Price. \u201cIt\u2019s also outdoors, so you\u2019ve got the weather to deal with.\u201d\r\n\r\nBecause the Illinois State Police have been handling security for the State Fair for so long, they typically dust off the standard binder, change the name of the governor (if applicable), update the layout and the schedule, and do what they\u2019ve always done. After witnessing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/san-antonio-real-time-gis-ncaa-final-four\/\">advantage other agencies have gained managing event security using real-time systems<\/a>, they decided on an apps-based strategy.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe thought we could bring some efficiencies and some clarity to what people are doing,\u201d said Aaron Kustermann, Chief Intelligence Officer for the Illinois State Police. \u201cWe also thought it would be a good place to experiment where we control the facility and access to information, so we can try new ideas and new tools.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":146292,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":124422,"section_title":"Illinois State Fair survey","spotlight_name":"State Fair Survey","position":"Center","content":"<strong>Making the App Transition<\/strong>\r\n\r\nLeaders at the STIC learned what peers had done for similar events using a geographic information system (GIS) as the backbone for real-time situational awareness. The STIC uses GIS on a daily basis to help prevent, prepare for, and respond to disasters (both human-made and natural) and other public safety issues in the state. Extending GIS to the security purpose was something they could handle themselves.\r\n\r\nThe STIC had a good map of the fairgrounds but the carnival layout changes every year. As the carnival setup was nearing completion, they flew a drone to capture up-to-date imagery to be added to the map. In addition, they added patrol sectors.\r\n\r\nFifty smartphones were provided by Verizon and an additional 20 phones belonging to troopers were updated to add a suite of apps. The Esri apps that were added included <a href=\"http:\/\/www.esri.com\/products\/workforce\">Workforce for ArcGIS<\/a> for tracking the location of each trooper, <a href=\"https:\/\/survey123.arcgis.com\/\">Survey123 for ArcGIS<\/a> for quick and intuitive reporting of incidents using dropdown menus, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/arcgis\/products\/explorer-for-arcgis\">Explorer for ArcGIS<\/a> for viewing incident details, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/arcgis\/products\/arcgis-geoevent-server\">ArcGIS GeoEvent Server<\/a> to send notifications to each phone whenever an incident was reported. In addition, <a href=\"https:\/\/doc.arcgis.com\/en\/operations-dashboard\/\">Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS<\/a> provided a one-glance view of incidents on large screens at headquarters and in the operations center at the fairgrounds to quickly update anyone on the status of the event.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe learned from others that the simpler we can make things, the more widely they will be used,\u201d Gray said. \u201cLiterally all the troopers had to do was open the apps when they got on their shift to see what others had reported or to report something.\u201d\r\n\r\nTraining the troopers didn\u2019t take long.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe were encouraged by how fast officers began to use the platform,\u201d Kustermann said. \u201cWithin an hour of the deployment users were using the application without any help.\u201d","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<strong>Putting Technology to the Test<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWhile the Illinois State Police have deployed tracking and some mobile applications in the past, this was the first time they had a map-based view of troopers who were collecting and sharing information in real time.\r\n\r\nThe Illinois State Police teamed with Verizon Wireless to ensure adequate connectivity to underpin this real-time capability. Verizon provided 50 smartphones and dedicated bandwidth through its <a href=\"http:\/\/www.verizonenterprise.com\/industry\/public_sector\/public_safety\/\">Responder Private Core<\/a> program, ensuring that responders have connectivity even when everyone at the event is using their phone at the same time.\r\n\r\nTicket operators at each of the entry gates, and the EMS teams from the local Springfield Fire Department, also had phones with the real-time system."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":140182,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"\u201cWhen there was a call for service, such as a medical emergency or other incident, we could look at the screen and see the closest trooper or EMS team,\u201d Price said. \u201cWe got a much quicker response time versus just calling who was assigned to a patrol area.\u201d\r\n\r\nTesting and updating the system was top-of-mind during the event.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe made it clear to everyone that if there were issues or suggestions to let us know right away,\u201d Gray said.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe changed the interface as the week went on,\u201d Price said. \u201cI would call to add this or delete that. There are still improvements that we could make, but I saw a lot of positive outcomes.\u201d\r\n\r\nIn the past, generating reports was a time-consuming manual task. With the apps, the flow of data automatically generated instant reports and an end-of-day incident tally.\r\n\r\nGiven the ease of trooper adoption, and the improved workflows, the Illinois State Police are looking to roll out a real-time system for daily tasks and deeper investigations.\r\n\r\n\u201cOur agency has a leadership role during complex operations related to sensitive and unsolved murders, missing persons, and manhunts,\u201d Kustermann said. \u201cWe learned a lot about deploying applications, and it's definitely going to be part of the way we run criminal cases in the future.\u201d\r\n\r\nThis development was made possible through partnerships with the Illinois Terrorism Task Force, the Illinois Law Enforcement Executive Institute Administration at Western Illinois University, and the State of Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nExplore the many ways that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/public-safety\/overview\">GIS supports public safety with smarter situational awareness<\/a>."},{"acf_fc_layout":"pdf","file":163422}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Illinois State Police Transform State Fair Security with Real-time GIS Apps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Illinois State Police transformed state fair security by adopting a suite of real-time GIS applications to share incidents and track officers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/illinois-state-police-adopt-real-time-gis-to-secure-state-fair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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