Herndon, Virginia Helps Locate Missing Children with PhoneTop AMBER Alerts and Cisco IPC System

February 9, 2004

By Stacy Williams, News@Cisco

According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Alexandria, Virginia, the most critical time in the search for a missing child is the first few hours immediately following the child's disappearance. Every hour that a child is missing, the likelihood of a safe recovery decreases.

One of the most effective, immediate ways of alerting police and other personnel about a child's disappearance is the AMBER Alerts program, named after 9-year-old murder victim Amber Hagerman. The program broadcasts alerts of missing children to fax machines at police stations. AMBER alerts are also sometimes pushed to tickers on Web sites or to television and radio stations.

Now, in addition to these broadcasts, Cisco IP communications solutions and the PhoneTop AMBER Alerts system from Cisco Premier Certified Partner AAC Inc. are enabling AMBER Alerts of missing children to be distributed across any network of Cisco IP phones.

One of the most successful implementations of AAC's PhoneTop AMBER Alerts is the Town of Herndon, Va. AAC not only replaced the town's aging phone and network systems with a converged Cisco network platform, but also made it possible to quickly send AMBER alerts of missing children to all of the Cisco IP phones in the Herndon local government.

PhoneTop AMBER Alerts is an extensible mark-up language (XML) software program that runs on the Cisco IP telephony (IPT) platform. It is one of many XML software solutions that help customers get the most from their investment in Cisco IP phones and other network equipment.

Organizations can subscribe to PhoneTop AMBER Alerts by identifying a range of nearby postal ZIP codes. When an AMBER Alert is issued within the ZIP code range, Cisco IP phones across the network receive audible notification of the National AMBER Alert signal.

Once an alert is received, users across the network can take advantage of the LCD displays on their Cisco IP phones to review detailed information about the abducted child, including photos, name, height, weight, and hair and eye color. They can also read available information, view photos of suspected abductors, and find out where to call to report possible sightings.

"AAC refined my vision of what we could do with a Cisco IP communications system," says Bill Ashton, director of IT for the Town of Herndon, Virginia. "Bids by other firms sold us on the features of IP communications-cost savings, flexibility, and scalability-all of which we needed. However, AAC presented all of those things and also showed how they could help us solve real business problems and better serve our customers-the employees and citizens of Herndon."

One of the major benefits for Herndon is the ability to distribute AMBER Alerts more widely than was previously possible using police station fax machines. In addition to the Herndon police, Ashton ensures that alerts are distributed to other town personnel such as building inspectors who are out on the street as part of their daily jobs.

PhoneTop AMBER Alerts is a complement to the town's new Cisco IP communications system, which replaces aging network and phone systems that were at maximum capacity.

"When the town hired a new employee, we had to issue them a cell phone," says Ashton. "We couldn't deploy new services and the phone infrastructure in particular was a cost nightmare."

Ashton decided to make the move to a converged voice and data network when a local company was installing fiber optic cable in the town. The new infrastructure includes Cisco switches, Cisco IP phones, and Cisco Unity unified messaging software. AAC provided comprehensive deployment services, including replacing the existing network infrastructure with new Cisco equipment, migrating legacy phone users to Cisco IP telephony, implementing PhoneTop AMBER Alert Services and more.

"Even during deployment, my customers saw the benefits of the new system," says Ashton. "Employees are thrilled to get their voicemails through email."

Today, the Town of Herndon is disconnecting more traditional phone lines and data circuits every day. Ashton is projecting a conservative estimate of 30 percent in savings on phone costs alone, and that figure may increase to 50 percent when the police department is added to the system.

Business processes are also becoming more efficient. According to Ashton, the Cisco IP Communications system reduces inefficiencies and is easy for staff to manage. Most issues can be resolved in-house, without the need for expensive contractors.

Beyond increased efficiencies and reacting more quickly to child abduction alerts, the Town of Herndon will also be introducing AAC's PhoneTop EAS Alert Service in the coming months to push Emergency Alert System weather alert warnings to Cisco IP phone users.

"In addition to doing everything we can to locate missing children in our area, we can also more proactively prepare for emergencies that may affect the safety of the town's citizens," says Ashton.

Bill Ashton, director of IT for the Town of Herndon, Virginia, will be on hand at Cisco Government Education Day, February 9, 2004, to discuss the success of the PhoneTop AMBER Alert Services implementation. Government Education Day provides an opportunity for the press, analysts and others to hear government and industry leaders' views on the role of technology in the government sector and what is driving this area today.

Stacy Williams is a freelance journalist located in Dutch John, UT.