Capital Wireless Information Net (CapWIN)

The Capital Wireless Information Net (CapWIN) program is a partnership between the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia to develop an integrated first responder communication and information sharing network to connect and provide critical data to first responders across jurisdictions and disciplines.  Focusing initially on first responders in the field, this unique and challenging program has created the first multi-state and multi-discipline interoperable public safety wireless data system in the United States. CapWIN is a single, open, shared, and secure system for the public safety and transportation communities at all levels of government.  CapWIN is part of the new umbrella organization, the Mid-Atlantic Communications Interoperability Partnership (MACIP), which has been established to provide an overarching structure to coordinate the operational overlap among public safety and transportation agencies.

CapWIN’s current capabilities include:

• Incident Management (Structured Messaging)
• Access to 3 State Criminal Justice Databases from VA, MD, and D.C., the Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN), Maryland Interagency Law Enforcement System (MILES), Washington Area Law Enforcement System (WALES) as well as National Crime Information Center
• One-to-One & Group Communication (Public and Private Messaging)
• Global Directory with First Responder Profiles
• Multiple Form-factor Support (PC & PDA)
• National Library of Medicine’s  “WISER” HAZMAT Database Partnership
• Security (FIPS 140-2 Compliant)
• Technology Certified as DHS “Approved Product for Homeland Security”

For all public safety and transportation entities throughout Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, CapWIN is immediately available at no cost.  Agencies that wish to use CapWIN today need only acquire mobile data computers and wireless access to a commercial service provider, e.g., Verizon, Cingular, NEXTEL, etc., if they do not already have  mobile data system.  CapWIN’s existing connections to multiple commercial networks provide secure access to the CapWIN application suite, including law enforcement databases.  CapWIN’s current network infrastructure also provides the opportunity for fixed station (desktop) access through existing state agency connections, e.g., The Commonwealth of Virginia Network (COVANET) (VA), Network MD, and the D.C. Wide Area Network. 

Using CapWIN, agencies can instantly communicate across their organizations, including with field personnel equipped with mobile data computers.  In addition, CapWIN users can instantly communicate with all other online users and access CapWIN’s full User Directory which contains contact information and individual skill profiles for all users.

CapWIN has also recently released its first PDA client, which provides access through a connected PocketPC PDA to CapWIN’s User directory, one-to-one messaging, and access to state/federal criminal databases.  Since the cost of a connected PDA can be substantially lower than a mobile data computer mounted in a vehicle, the “cost of entry” to join the CapWIN community can be even less if a PDA can meet the operational needs of an agency.

Through CapWIN’s enhanced messaging capabilities, smaller jurisdictions can use the CapWIN application as a dispatch solution, as well as for other operational tasks, e.g., “roll call” functions using group messaging functions. Agencies can create private discussions available only to their own users as well as “public rooms” open to the larger CapWIN community across agencies and jurisdictions.

As an example, the Waynesboro Police Department in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia is using CapWIN via mobile data and desktop computers.  Waynesboro plans to use CapWIN to support day-to-day operations including law enforcement queries, individual and group messaging as well as intra-departmental communications.  As one of eight Virginia public safety and transportation agencies using CapWIN today, Waynesboro is also looking forward to communicating with other CapWIN users in neighboring jurisdictions and across disciplines.

As a system designed to “enable interoperability for first responders everywhere they are,” connecting to CapWIN can assist smaller jurisdictions in qualifying for Federal and state grants, including Homeland Security Grants that now require agencies large and small to demonstrate how they are achieving interoperability.  CapWIN enables interoperability “out of the box” by connecting users regardless of location or agency affiliation.

CapWIN software is currently free to local, state and Federal users across Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.  In the future, CapWIN plans to become a largely self sustaining organization through the collection of user fees.

To learn more about how to connect to CapWIN, including information on current users, hardware requirements and connectivity options, please contact Roddy Moscoso at rmoscoso@capwin.org (301) 614-3728.