I am very pleased to announce that we expect to soon become InterAct911 Mobile Systems. Upon the anticipated approval by BIO-key's shareholders later this year, BIO-key's Law Enforcement Division will be acquired by InterAct Public Safety Systems, Inc. and become InterAct911 Mobile Systems, Inc., a separate division within InterAct with responsibility for just mobile data systems - just as it is today. With this change completed, BIO-key, International will focus entirely on its other core business - fingerprint-based biometrics.
 
This is very good news for the Law Enforcement Division and for our customers. For us, it means we'll be part of an organization whose sole focus is public safety. With over 1700 combined user agencies in the U.S. we're a stronger organization with a wider national footprint. (The next story in this newsletter provides a summary of InterAct's current public safety solutions and customers. InterAct will also be presenting its InterAct Connections Framework at our National Training Symposium next month.)
 
For our mobile data customers, I want to first emphasize that this organizational change will not affect the products, support or service they receive today. The same team will continue developing and enhancing our mobile data products so they remain the best available from any company. Likewise, the same process and contacts for sales and customer support will stay in place.
 
But as part of InterAct, we can bring significantly more value to our customers. We will now be able to offer what many have asked us for - an integrated public safety solution set from a single company. In addition to our MobileCop® and PocketCop®, field reporting, and messaging solutions for first responders and campus security, we can provide 911, CAD, RMS and other solutions from the combined InterAct portfolio. From one dependable and responsive source, public safety agencies will be able to get the right solutions to seamlessly link the entire enterprise, including the Comms Center, headquarters and the field. 
 
We will send a special announcement to all customers when the new organization is official. In the meantime please consult the FAQs we've posted on our website. One of the FAQs addresses a question we've been asked about future support for partners. The answer to that question is simple: We plan on maintaining our open API and support for other vendor systems and our close working relationship with all of our current partners. As I said, the organizational change will not affect our customers in any way. 
 
Please feel free to call me at 508.460.4047 with any other questions or concerns.

Best Regards,

Ken Souza

 Introducing InterAct Public Safety Systems

InterAct Public Safety Systems was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Winston-Salem, NC. InterAct's 160 employees serve more than 800 public safety agency customers in 29 states, including Kentucky State Police and Pennsylvania State Police.
 
InterAct has been a reseller and integrator of BIO-key mobile data solutions for ten years and our mobile data products have been incorporated into the InterAct Connections Framework.  The Framework also includes:
     o Next Generation (NG) 911 Telephony
     o Computer-aided Dispatch (InterActCAD)
     o Geographic Information System (InterActGIS)
     o Records Management System (RMS) for:
        - Law Enforcement (InterActRMS)
        - Fire (InterActFire)
        - EMS (InterActEMS)
        - Jails (InterActJail)
     o Municipal Court Management (InterActCourt)
     o Crisis and Incident Management (MissionMode)
     o Video Surveillance (TrueSentry)
 
You can learn more at the InterAct website or by attending an InterAct demonstration at our National Training Symposium next month.

Customers in the News

Congratulations go to two BIO-key customers on their recent awards. Shelby County (TN) Sheriff Mark Luttrell, Jr. was named the 2009 Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriffs' Association. The Shelby County Sheriff's Office has been a MobileCop user since 1998.  
 
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) recently selected the Soldotna (AK) Police Department and its PocketCop on BlackBerry smartphones implementation as a winner of its 2009 Innovation in Information Technology Award. Click here to read more about the department's success.

New Customer Profile: Massasoit College Police

In June, the Massasoit Police, serving Massasoit Community College in Massachusetts, became the 25th campus safety department in the U.S. using BIO-key's mobile data solutions. Also coming onboard this year were the University of Louisville, the University of Oklahoma and James Madison University in Virginia.
 
Like these schools, many colleges and universities employ sworn officers with the same powers of arrest as a city or town police officer. As Officer Chris Cummings of the Massasoit Police noted in a recent email: "Our crime volume is up and our officer staffing is down - much like everywhere else. (MobileCop) has not only helped us catch up to area colleges and local departments, but allowed us to further protect our officers - which we all know at the end of the day is the highest priority."
 
Many of our campus safety users are hosted by a local, county or state law enforcement agency also using BIO-key mobile data solutions. In addition to lowering the cost of entry for even the smallest campus police organization, this arrangement enables officers of both departments to communicate silently and securely in a mutual aid or other emergency situation.
 
Most campus safety departments also employ non-sworn staff for such tasks as building and event security, parking enforcement and student escort. With our MobileCampus™ solution, now available on BlackBerry smartphones, non-sworn personnel can communicate with dispatchers, with each other, and with sworn officers who are using MobileCop and PocketCop.

Upcoming Events

Over the next few months we'll be at several national and regional events where you can meet our staff and get more information on our products, including:

The BIO-key National Training Symposium, September 21-23 in Gaithersburg, MD
The 2009 IACP Annual Conference and Exposition, October 3-7 in Denver, CO 

BIO-key Newsletters Now Available Online 
 

Looking for information you remember reading in a past Newsletter edition? You can click here or just go to "Newsletters" under "News and Events" on the BIO-key home page to access recent Law Enforcement Newsletters. We've also posted the most recent edition of our Biometrics Newsletter on the site.