Connected Public Safety Advancements

2022 NACo Achievement Award Winner

Orange County, Va., VA

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About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

Orange County has demonstrated its commitment to public safety through meaningful organizational and technological improvements. The new integrated, multi-use, Public Safety Building stands as a prominent example. The structure itself provides cutting-edge technologies coupled with innovative organizational realignments. In the facility, we co-located all public safety departments to promote collaboration, efficient response, and streamlined communications. Information Technology also gained a new home; its ever-growing integration of cybersecurity and digital infrastructure are critical to the success of the public safety teams. From a technological perspective, the new mobile-ready computer-aided dispatch (CAD) can associate disparate datapoints (suspect’s record of police interactions or a patient’s medical history) and present them in a variety of real time formats to first responders. Most astounding of all, the new P25 digital land mobile radio system represents a massive leap forward for our community. Voice and data communications are now available at 95% coverage, up from 17%, with improved functionality, agency integration, and multiple layers of redundancy. The result of these efforts is a community that is strategically and tactically positioned for public safety responsiveness across our agencies and the region.