States Pass Laws for Critical Incident Mapping of Schools

Critical Response Group (CRG), a firm that provides incident mapping data, announced yesterday the passing of critical incident mapping legislation that will enhance emergency response by giving first responders an accurate and up-to-date operating picture of schools, allowing communication among responding agencies and jurisdictions in the event of an emergency like an active shooter.

CRG makes mapping data available within existing software programs in 911 centers, CAD platforms and mobile applications. The new states whose schools will join the more than 14,000 already wired with CRG software are Wisconsin, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Texas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Maryland and Virginia.

“The Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association Brought CRG’s work to my attention, and I immediately realized the value for a true statewide standard for critical mapping,” Wisconsin State Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, said in a statement.

“This is common sense legislation: When first responders are racing against time to save lives, they cannot waste precious minutes trying to make sense out of an accurate map. When the police and fire departments are working off different maps due to incompatible software, it could put people at risk.”

The critical incident mapping combines high-resolution aerial imagery with onsite verified floor plans, site-specific labels and an alphanumeric grid overlay.

CRG was founded by U.S. military operations veterans and creates detailed maps for first responders.