IBM rolls out Miss. homeland security pilot

IBM Corp. has successfully completed the initial deployment of a new homeland security system in Mississippi to help first responders fight crime, the company announced today.

The Mississippi Automated System Project is a mobile data infrastructure that links local law enforcement and public safety agencies in a single database.

When completed later this year, the project will provide field units with real-time access to all available public safety information, including mug shots, arrest warrants, criminal intelligence, hazardous materials data and medical emergency protocols.

The initial deployment of the Mississippi Automated System Project by the Armonk, N.Y.-based systems integrator will support law enforcement, fire department and emergency medical services in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson?all of which border the Gulf of Mexico. IBM's key partner on the project is Tarantella Inc. of Santa Cruz, Calif., a provider of secure remote access software.

The project was funded through a $14 million federal grant to the University of Southern Mississippi.

If successful, the pilot project could go statewide and then could serve as a model for a nationwide system, IBM said.

The complete ASP system will be rolled out in three phases. The first phase, which was completed in February, provided a single point of access to the existing jail management system of the three county jails. The second phase, completed this month, allows integrated records management and computer-aided dispatch for fire and law enforcement.

The final phase, expected to be completed in October, will implement the mobile data infrastructure capable of connecting laptops used by first responders to multiple databases.