The Southwest Public Safety Technology Center (SWTC) is a grant-supported project dedicated to research and education in the area of public safety technology and homeland security. It serves agencies and organizations in the Houston Metroplex area, the State of Texas, and the entire nation.

Areas of Interest:

SWTC's Mission is to develop integrated technology solutions for the public safety and homeland security community in keeping with our nation's move toward an integrated homeland security infrastructure, including, but not limited to critical infrastructure (seaport, airport and other public utilities) protection and security, interoperable communications, situational awareness, intelligent transportation, emergency health services, incident command, disaster management and mass evacuation.

Technologies of interest to SWTC changes over time, depending on the needs and requirements of the public safety community, innovation, interest and available funding.

Because SWTC relies on both private and public support, it is constantly considering new research projects and applying for grants. Information about the latest project proposals will be mentioned on this website when available and appropriate.

Funding and Mission

This center is a collaborative effort on the part of the Cullen College of Engineering at the University of Houston and the Sheriffs' Association of Texas (SAT). SWTC is made possible through a congressionally-mandated grant administered by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Office of Science & Technology.

SWTC was founded by the University of Houston in 2005.

The Executive Advisory Board. provides recommendations about the general direction the center should take.

Generally, the center has these goals:

• Applied Research and Development (R&D) - conducting research and development on technologies of interest to the law enforcement community
• Reporting and publicizing original research and innovation by researchers about these technologies
• Test and Evaluation (T&E) - evaluating the effectiveness of various new public safety technologies
• Utilization of "testbeds" (both static and mobile) to test how a particular technology might be implemented and integrated
• Writing and publishing white papers to summarize research and findings
• Offering support (Technology Assistance) to public safety agencies trying to incorporate new technologies into their work
• Education & Training - developing education degree and certification programs; training programs and technology courses; and effective methods of delivery with the objective of making the public safety workforce more technology oriented.
• Providing to public safety officials direct training and information about workshops, conferences and grant sources around the country
• Providing a web infrastructure that allows public safety officials to communicate/collaborate with other people in their field

Staff

The center executive director is Dr. Steven Pei. Read more about SWTC staff

The center director is Gordon Dilmore. Read more about SWTC staff.

If you have questions/comments/suggestions about the website, please send them to Josten Ma .

Affiliate Organizations

SWTC works together with many related local, state and national organizations.

For more information about organizations and groups involved in similar kinds of work, check the SWTC Web Resources page.