In October 2010, Gwent Police deployed its new CORTEXremote Software Integrated Communications Control System (SICCS) to assist in managing the policing of the Ryder Cup.

This is the first time that a mobile control room solution has been used at a high profile sporting event.

While the European team were busy regaining the Ryder Cup from the American team, over 150 officers and 300 support staff were patrolling the 1,400-acre event. The product also offered vital support to assist in co-ordinating officers in the surrounding area, who were responsible for traffic control and ensuring the safety of 135,000 attending fans.

The Ryder Cup is the 3rd largest sporting event in the world – a fitting test for the launch of the new CORTEXremote mobile workstation – and the first time a portable mobile Communications Control System has been used to co-ordinate officers at such an event.

CORTEXremote provides operators with the same functionality found in a fully equipped emergency control room, but with the flexibility to connect the ultra slim, highly portable touch screen all-in-one PC from anywhere with a broadband internet connection (satellite and microwave links are also supported).

The mobility and functionality offered by CORTEXremote was vital for Gwent police who, rather than having to deploy senior officers at the force’s command and control centre over six miles away, were for the first time able to place officers in the heart of the Celtic Manor golf course.

Having these senior officers deployed in the Police Silver Command room at the event meant that key decisions could be made from a more informed point of view.  

“Gwent Police required a system that could provide its control room staff with the same functionality of a force control room – except it had to be portable enough to be transported by hand on site and be deployed quickly. CORTEXremote fits into a briefcase and can be integrated seamlessly into almost any area with an Internet connection – making it a truly mobile device and the first of its kind,” said Steve Denison, Managing Director of APD Communications.

“CORTEXremotemerges TETRA radio dispatch, telephone call handling, video monitoring and web services, enabling control room operators to conduct their duties effortlessly. Using the product, staff at the event were able to manage voice and data traffic and access key information instantly via the user-friendly touch screen interface,” concluded Denison.

CORTEXremote provides key TETRA features, which otherwise would not be available outside the control room, such as the ability to monitor, control and patch together multiple talk group channels, respond to officers’ emergency alarms, over-ride officers’ transmissions, receive status messages, ambience listen and stun radio terminals.

The product also allows operators to leverage the full range of control room telephony call handling functionality such as: ACD (Automatic Call Distribution), caller name, address and GPS location, conferencing, eavesdropping and the ability to take-over calls if required – ensuring incidents are managed as effectively as possible. CORTEXremote harnesses advanced VoIP (Voice over IP) capabilities to provide control room quality audio. The product also allows operators to monitor and control multiple CCTV cameras and manage security access by remotely operating doors and barriers.

Previously, two forces had the choice to manage events using their fully featured control room, which could be situated several miles away, or from the event itself but without the advanced features which could be required. With CORTEXremote, all features expected from a control room are available from any location.

As well as being an invaluable tool for large planned events, such as the Ryder Cup, CORTEXremote mobile workstations can be deployed to take early control of major, large-scale or protracted incidents, freeing up resources at the main control room to deal with other incidents and priorities.

CORTEXremote is also being installed in mobile command vehicles to provide truly mobile silver and bronze control rooms. The flexibility offered by CORTEXremote, means that the product also supports home working, which allows forces to rapidly alleviate the load from the control room in times of major crisis to off-duty operators who can simply connect a CORTEXremote to their home internet connection and handle 999 calls or incident dispatch within minutes.