From investigations to VIP visits, Intrepid Response is increasing efficiency and bridging communication gaps across multiple jurisdictions.

Grand Traverse County, Michigan spans 601 square miles in Northern Michigan, 23% of which is water. The largest agency in the county, Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office (GTCSO), has 74 officers handling 26,000 - 30,000 annual calls.

Because many neighboring agencies are too small to maintain specialized units like SWAT or dive teams, the Northern Michigan Mutual Aid Task Force (NMMATF) was formed. GTCSO plays a central role, hosting and coordinating shared regional resources.

Narrowing search zones in rescue operations

When a suspected drowning victim disappears beneath the waters of one of the many lakes in Grand Traverse County, the NMMATF sends a dive team. An overturned canoe, a floating fishing rod or a disappearing cell phone signal are clues that can narrow the search area. But once on the lake it is difficult for the dive operation command to track rescue boats or pinpoint searched areas because there aren’t any visual reference points out on the water like there are on land. Until now, That Is.

Detective Sergeant Jarrod Bilacic, a 23-year law enforcement veteran of Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office, led the adoption of Intrepid Response, a mobile frontline public safety mission support solution that allows command staff to map search grids, track rescue boats and use cellular data to narrow search zones in water-related incidents to improve chances of a successful recovery.

While Intrepid Response has been invaluable for mutual-aid dive team rescue missions, its deployment has also changed the way GTCSO and NMMATF handle daily tasks and special operations – vastly enhancing situational awareness and emergency preparedness at all times.

Bilacic first encountered Intrepid Response while working a fugitive case with the U.S. Marshals Service. “While we were working on that case, I saw the marshals were uploading photos and information into a system of some sort,” he said. “I didn’t know what it was, so I asked them ‘What are you guys using to share this information?’ And the marshal that was working with me said, ‘We all have Intrepid.’” As he showed me the system, I thought, “This is a really great solution.”

Bilacic arranged for several demo licenses so deputies at GTCSO could try Intrepid Response for themselves.

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