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N. Hempstead partners with Nassau County to provide RAVE app for employees

The Island Now
(Left to Right) Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth and Nassau County Executive Laura Curran with the Rave Panic Button mobile app. (Photo courtesy of the Town of North Hempstead)

Supervisor Judi Bosworth and the Town of North Hempstead have joined with Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder to equip Town employees with the Rave Panic Button mobile app, the latest emergency situation technology currently being used by dozens of schools and municipalities across Long Island.

North Hempstead will fall under the County’s agreement, therefore making the fee for the Town much lower than if done independently.

Currently five Town government buildings will be equipped with the Rave mobile app.  In the case of an emergency, the app allows the user to immediately notify 911 as well as others in the building of an emergency, which could include an ‘active shooter” situation.

The Rave Panic Button app delivers critical data such as detailed caller location, emergency exit locations, emergency contacts, and key procedures. When an authorized user activates the button, a 911 call is initiated, and the call becomes a priority call for 911 call takers.

Additionally, the Town will be rolling out the RAVE mobile app to all town buildings and employees by the end of 2020.

Stationary phone with the RAVE mobile app will also be placed throughout Town buildings to give access to those employees who do not wish to have the app on their phones. 

“While I wish we did not live in a world that required giving thought to terrifying scenarios like active shooters, it is a reality. We must do whatever we can to ensure that safe and proper protocols are in place for our employees,” the supervisor said. “The Rave app will supply that.”

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran stated, “We are proud to work with the leaders of the Town of North Hempstead to provide the Rave app, which will help ensure the safety of employees and residents doing business in municipal buildings. While we hope no one ever has to use it, this panic button app is just one example of how we are assisting Nassau County’s municipalities, schools, libraries, and houses of worship to be prepared for emergencies.”

Nassau County officials said Rave and silent alarms are in some County buildings, and the Nassau County Police Department offers training for active shooter situations and stopping traumatic bleeding.

In May 2018, Nassau County Police Department Homeland Security gave a situational training seminar to North Hempstead employees and the public. An additional session was held on Oct. 22 for employees.

The Town intends to schedule an additional situational training seminar for its employees again this fall that will include training on the Rave Mobile Safety application.

 Other security upgrades that the Town will be doing by the end of the year include:

–     Blue Lights over the outside entrances to warn the public of emergency situation inside the building

–     Swipe Entry at multiple additional locations to make the employees safer

–     Situational Awareness and additional safety training

–     Additional lighting in parking lots

–     Additional security protocols

The Rave Panic Button was launched in 2015 after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, to ensure faster responses and better communication during school emergencies, according to Rave Mobile Safety, the company that produces the app.

Users can activate the application on their smartphones to immediately notify 911 and other app users in the area to help workers escape, hide or fight as a last resort, officials said. It also eases communication between first responders and those on-site.

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