Trenton, N.J. - The New Jersey State Police today announced the implementation of state-of-the-art crisis management software to expand its emergency preparedness and response capabilities. The new software will facilitate a more coordinated response and the sharing of incident information among agencies. The software was initially deployed in the State's Emergency Operations Center and activated for the recent Republican National Convention and the floods that ravaged Warren, Sussex, Hunterdon, and Mercer counties. The new system will now be available to agencies and departments throughout New Jersey for the effective management of both everyday incidents and large-scale events.

"The software has dramatically improved our effectiveness by providing real time situation updates among a variety of agencies from the local to the national level," said Lieutenant Colonel Lori Hennon-Bell, commander of the New Jersey State Police Homeland Security Bureau. "The benefits were most apparent during the Republican National Convention, when the system enabled us to share on-line information instantaneously with our New Jersey partners, New York City's OEM and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, all of whom utilize the system."

Once fully implemented, the New Jersey State Police Office of Emergency Management will be connected with all of the 21 counties and State agencies such as the Department of Health and Senior Services, Department of Military and Veteran's Affairs, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Transportation, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the New Jersey National Guard.

"It's important to tie together communications for all of the emergency managers throughout the state to give us a clear picture of each incident as it is developing," said Chris Scaturo, Deputy Coordinator of Emergency Management for Union County, NJ. "It gives all of us the ability to properly plan and respond to any situation because of the rapid exchange of information."

Scott DiGiralomo, Director of Emergency Management for Morris County, New Jersey, also put the impact of the system in perspective. "During 9/11, information sharing between the counties and the state typically involved faxes and telephone conference calls. By the time someone prepared and sent a fax, the information was often outdated," said DiGiralomo. "The key to effectively managing any crisis, especially one that involves terrorism, is to have accurate real-time information that allows us to make better decisions. Decisions based on accurate real-time information results in more effective management of critical resources, which saves lives and reduces property damage."

Everyone involved with this project agrees that it is an excellent example of how local and county governments are working together with the State to improve our ability to manage and respond to crises throughout the region.

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