Public Safety 911 (Windows) - How the Public Safety 911 App Works

The Alertus system reports emergency situations to Public Safety. This document explains who can use it and how it works.



WHAT IS "PUBLIC SAFETY 911" & WHO CAN USE IT?

The Public Safety 911 application, also referred to as Alertus Activator, is designed to send an emergency alert signal from Parkland staff, faculty and instructor workstations on campus to the Public Safety office.



HOW TO SEND A 911 SIGNAL TO PUBLIC SAFETY

In the event of an emergency, a 911 signal can be sent to Public Safety in either of two ways:

1. VIA THE DESKTOP ICON
Double-clicking the Public Safety 911 icon will send a 911 alert signal to the Public Safety Office.
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2. VIA THE SYSTEM TRAY ICON
Right-click the Panic Button icon in the system tray and select Public Safety 911 from the menu.
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When the Public Safety 911 signal is activated, you will receive a pop-up confirmation that your alert has been sent.
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WHAT PUBLIC SAFETY RECEIVES

Once your alert is sent, Public Safety will receive an alert on their computers with the name of the computer you sent the alert from and the account you were logged into the computer with.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can I use Public Safety 911 from my laptop?

Yes. However, Parkland computers are named according to their home location. Due to their mobility, the computer names associated with laptops cannot be relied upon to accurately reflect the laptop’s location except when used in it's home location.

I get a pop-up balloon that says my connection is offline. What should I do?
This pop-up signifies that your computer cannot send an alert signal to Public Safety because it cannot communicate with the Alertus service. This most frequently occurs when your computer is not connected to the Parkland network, but can also occur when your computer comes out of sleep mode. If you are seeing this after waking a device from sleep mode, please be patient. Your computer will automatically attempt to re-establish its connection with the server after it wakes. Generally, this takes no longer than a few minutes. 
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I see two panic buttons. What does this mean? Which one should I use?
This can occur under certain conditions in normal operating circumstances. Generally, it means that there are two instances of the application running. Either one will send an alert to Public Safety.  Logging out or rebooting the computer should resolve the instance.
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Tech Service Desk

Room A184, 217-353-3333

Fall/Spring: 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. M-Th. / 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Fridays

Summer: 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. M-Th

Submit an IT Help Ticket via services.parkland.edu




Keywords:
emergency icon application desktop 9-1-1 software alert alertus help 
Doc ID:
65927
Owned by:
Dalton N. in Parkland College
Created:
2016-08-09
Updated:
2024-03-25
Sites:
Parkland College