Safety: You make the difference. A motto the University of New Mexico Police Department is dedicated to bringing students day in and day out. Their community approach encourages students, faculty, staff and visitors to work together to make sure UNM remains safe through common sense precautions and looking out for others.
Reliable and flexible communication
When an emergency does occur, for the last 15 years the UNM Police Department has relied on Zetron’s 4020 console system and Zetron reseller, Advanced Communications and Electronics (ACE), to service the full 9-1-1 PSAP.
“The Zetron system has served UNM well and exceeded their expectations over the years,” said Francisco Arrieta, Advanced Communications IT director and project manager. “Since the system interfaces to the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, when they announced plans to upgrade to a new P25 system, we wanted to make sure UNM would be able to operate on that system without being locked into a certain manufacturer. The new consoles needed to be vendor agnostic.”
In addition to being UNM’s trusted communications partner, Arrieta knew the UNM dispatchers had developed a comfort level with Zetron. So when it came time for the UNM team to update their 4020 system, the recommendation from ACE was simple, stick with what they knew worked well.
Meeting today and tomorrow’s requirements
On top of being reliable, UNM needed something IP based with instant call recording, built in redundancy and recording capabilities from the console system using their current Eventide recorder. “The new system also needed to interface with Harris radios, and potentially a new radio communications system once the city made the migration,” Arrieta said. “We took into consideration all the potential changes that may occur in the coming years, the cost, interoperability and reputation. Ultimately, Zetron’s MAX Dispatch system checked every box and provided the flexibility and adaptability UNM needed today and in the future.”
By December 2017 the 4020 system was on its way out and the new MAX Dispatch system was ready for action. They pre-staged the equipment at Advanced Communications’ site prior to the installation, finally going live in January of 2018.
All in the details
“The ACE team gave UNM PD’s dispatch supervisor, David Rincon, a chance to view the equipment and train the dispatchers on-site during the system implementation,” Arrieta explained. “We were able to cutover the new console using the Harris radios, then moved the lines for the Tone Remote Control (TRC) 2 wire repeaters over to the new console one at a time. This made the whole process run very smooth and made it even easier for the dispatchers to learn the new equipment.”
Thanks to the ability to interface with the Harris 800MHz radios and Motorola MTR 2000 over two wire leased lines, as well as operate with Harris EDACS and P25 standards, the system is everything UNM expected and then some. “The dispatchers said they’re able to listen much better to the officers in the field now, compared to the old system,” Arrieta said. “They’ve really enjoyed the new system and found the user interface to be very intuitive.”
Building for the future
Moving forward, Arrieta said UNM already has an additional console position available for future expansion in the next couple of years. “We’ve served clients in New Mexico for over 20 years and pride ourselves in the excellent relationship we’ve built with the University of New Mexico,” he said. “We’ll continue delivering the support, maintenance and service to ensure UNM can continue providing the students, faculty, staff and visitors a safe learning environment throughout the campus every single day.”