2021-02-11

Nationwide Rollout of A New Revolutionary Police Command and Control Centre Solution: ELKOS, a Fact

Source: The Critical Communications Review | Gert Jan Wolf editor

Austria is the first and currently only country within the European Union (EU) with ISO-certified control centers.

Today, 11 February, is European 112 Day. After one of the most challenging and difficult years for emergency services organisations, Frequentis said that they are happy and honoured to contribute to ensuring the #safety of Austrian citizens by providing mission-critical technologies for the nationwide #ELKOS project, together with thier partner Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure.

Austria is thus the first and currently only country within the European Union (EU) with ISO-certified control centers, in which the police can interact with customers using a nationwide uniform IT system (ELKOS) or receive emergency calls and coordinate police operations nationwide.

"The new state control centers have initiated a paradigm shift in the police," said Interior Minister Karl Nehammer about the ISO certification achieved on February 11, 2021. "The new ELKOS operations control and communication system forms the basis for the quality of the control center work according to the highest international standards." Nevertheless, the most modern technology could not enable the desired service without the competence of the employees, said Nehammer. "That is why this quality certification confirms the excellent work that is being done in the state control centers."

"With the 'New Control Center' project, 99 control centers became nine state control centers," said Franz Ruf, Director General for Public Security, when receiving the certification on February 11, 2021. "The Ministry of the Interior followed a recommendation from the Court of Auditors in all federal states A major added value of the centralization of the emergency call lies in the increase in efficiency, "emphasized Reinhard Schnakl, Head of Group II / A (Organization, Operations and Operations) in the Ministry of the Interior. With the accompanying introduction of the new ELKOS operations control and communication system, the Federal Ministry of the Interior took a major step towards modernizing and increasing the efficiency of police work.

The new operations control and communication system named: ELKOS, offers a better overview of available emergency services and the current police situation. "The police now can act professionally towards the citizens as the organization becomes more efficient and the distances become shorter," explained Schnakl.

With the new technical possibilities, police officers in the operational field service could be supported much better in mastering their challenging work, said Schnakl. "With ELKOS, for example, operational data can be transmitted or various communications can be handled centrally. The technical options are also being gradually expanded." On the one hand, the rescue chain will be shortened and, on the other hand, the security of the police officers will be significantly increased by sending information relevant to the operation, added the group leader. 

"The core of the delivery is the Frequentis 3020 LifeX as communication hub between police control centres and police officers. Our highly reliable, state-of-the-art software solution supports police teams to ensure the safety of Austrian citizens around the clock, 365 days a year," says Frequentis CEO Norbert Haslacher. "As an Austrian company, it is a particular pleasure for us to provide ELKOS, the largest safety-critical communication infrastructure in Austria, together with our partner Hexagon, the supplier of the computer-aided dispatch system."