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Arqiva upgrades Devon & Cornwall Police communications ahead of tourist season
Arqiva is upgrading communications technology at Devon & Cornwall Police Force's command and control centres, in preparation for the summer and the onset of millions of visitors to the counties.
The upgrade to Devon & Cornwall's Software Integrated Communications Control System (SICCS) is part of its '2012 Programme', designed to make the Force among the top performing and most technologically effective in the UK. The SICCS provides Airwave radio, telephony and data integration services to the Force's two command and control rooms at Exeter and Plymouth. SICCS is critically important to the Force's ability to manage effectively planned events and respond to spontaneous incidents. The new system provides improved integration between the different communicationtechnologies for secure, quick and efficient collaboration between the control rooms and front-line officers.
Tim Bishop, Airwave manager at Devon & Cornwall Police, said: "We are intent on providing the best service to both residents and visitors to our counties. Arqiva's solution future-proofs our telephony needs, providing us with a robust, secure and stable communications platform that will improve officers' responsiveness to situations.”
Following a competitive tender, Arqiva won a five-year contract in November 2009 to upgrade the Force's SICCS. The contract includes a refresh of all hardware and software at two server rooms, and the update of 56 work stations with the latest in communications and control software from APD Communications.
The new system will increase communications reliability and improve business continuity, with the SICCS platform integrating with the Force’s existing and proposed new command and control incident management systems. It will utilise CT Connect for better, more flexible telephony integration and new Hot Standby TETRA Gateways for resilient data management and transfer. Once completed, the Force will be among the first in the country to have a solution that manages Airwave voice and data in this way.
Arqiva's relationship with the Force dates back to 1990 when they serviced the radio communications systems; the company also supplied and installed the original SICCS platform in 2001. Attributing this recent contract win to their historical working partnership, Steve Mace, Sales Director for Arqiva Wireless Access, explains: "As well as providing the Force with the right solution, key to winning the contract was our understanding of the pressures Devon & Cornwall Police faced – in terms of their budgetary needs and keeping disruption to police work to a minimum. Arqiva's solution ensures that the software upgrade requires no system downtime during migration. The transition has been planned with the Force to maintain operational capability on an agreed number of operator positions at all times. With only minimal training required, the upgrade will not detract staff from their police work or take officers off the streets."
Installation at the Plymouth Control Room will start in June with completion due by the first week in July, in time for the British holiday season.
