The minute a hostage/crisis situation is reported, an agency must engage in one of the most expensive operations it can incur: calling out a tactical response team (SWAT, negotiators, etc). It can take some time for a response team to assemble and prepare for an operation, yet because a hostage/crisis typically gets resolved in the first 2-3 hours, many times they arrive just as the situation is winding down. Nevertheless the agency has incurred a large, and sometimes unnecessary expense.
The LETS system enables a negotiator to take over/record a call from the first responder immediately, thereby starting negotiations from any location. When an agency uses the LETS audio/calling system, an automatic, text-message is sent from the first responders cell/land-line phone to the negotiator alerting him/her to the fact that the first responder has the suspect on the phone. This alert allows the negotiator to take over the call immediately saving precious time (and money). The system records the entire call to a secure server from the minute the first responder initiated it to the ending resolution. The system also alerts additional responding command so they too can monitor the call through a muted connection, thereby gaining access to real-time communication but not interfering with the ongoing negotiation.
The LETS video recording system can be combined with the audio system to provide real-time streaming video, giving authorized personnel the ability to watch the live scene unfold and deploy/plan accordingly.
Agencies utilizing these systems give their negotiation/SWAT team a significant advantage by giving them the ability to de-escalate or resolve a situation before SWAT deployment, saving precious time, money and very possibly lives.