Atlantic City Casinos Give Police Access to Surveillance Systems
Police will soon have access to the casinos' surveillance systems to help them fight crime in the Tourism District.
During the Dave Matthews Band Caravan in June, the system helped with things like traffic, said Johnny Delgado, AtlantiCare's chief of emergency medical services.
"It was excellent," he said of the unit the ambulance was loaned.
AtlantiCare has already ordered two units that will allow it to join the private link and access cameras and radio communications.
The AtlantiCare units were bought with two federal grants totaling about $100,000 -- and "can literally be up and running within a half a day once we get them," Delgado said.
The grants cover the cost of equipment, installation and training.
Delgado, who has worked with the Department of Defense and Homeland Security in his 30-plus years in EMS, said the system is the key to make communication quicker and more efficient in emergencies.
"Believe me, if this (system) had been around way back when, life would have been a whole lot easier," he said.
The casino link-in will be funded entirely through a grant from the state Office of Homeland Security Preparedness. The State Police brought it to the DGE's attention, spokeswoman Lisa Spengler said.
"This is an important link to integrate the Tourism District with Atlantic City's overall 'safe and clean' initiative." Gilbert said.
Jubilee said the addition of the casinos is "very important."
"It allows a complete connection to their radio system, their phone system and their video system, and it's remote," he said. "It just puts us that much closer to inter-operability, and that's important when we have so many different types of radio systems and video camera systems.
"This tool will allow us to communicate and see and talk to anyone who has the device," he added.
The system will work even with Atlantic City's antiquated computer system, but the planned upgrades to that will make things even better, he said.
"As that gets improved down the line it will improve the quality of information we'll be able to push across the Mutualink network," Gilbert said.
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