ENGAGE 2026: 5 Sessions Every Public Safety Agency Should Know About

ENGAGE 2026 brought together over 1,400 public sector professionals for three days of strategic sessions, hands-on training, and candid conversations with peers.

This year’s sessions didn’t disappoint. CentralSquare’s vision of a unified Public Safety & Justice (PSJ) platform took center stage. Sessions also covered real-time actionable intelligence with FirstTwo, the current and future state of AI, and new features for officers and dispatchers in the Enterprise Suite.

For PSJ agencies, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The work you do saves lives, and the technology supporting your team needs to keep up. It needs to be hero-grade.

ENGAGE 2026 was built around that reality. Across keynotes, live demos, and customer panels, attendees left with a clear picture of where the platform is headed and what it means for the communities they protect. Here are five sessions that stood out.

Session 1: Public Safety & Justice Keynote

Sarah McWhorter, Vice President of Product Management at CentralSquare, opened ENGAGE 2026 with something customers have been waiting for: proof.

Proof of progress. Proof of innovation. Proof that the feedback they shared actually shaped product development. McWhorter walked through a year’s worth of commitments delivered:

• Major reliability and performance improvements for FieldOps
• Multi-factor authentication for the Pro Suite
• Updated dispatcher workflows to reduce friction during high-volume events
• Turn-by-turn routing in MobileX

From there, McWhorter showcased how CentralSquare has built a single, unified platform to handle every step of an emergency. Products like Vertex NG911, Public Safety Suite, FirstTwo, and Centerline were all designed to work together.

In the first live demo, she showed how Centerline operates inside CAD and RMS—bringing critical information front and center without manual searches. The second showcased real-time drone-to-CAD integration, offering a glimpse into where situational awareness is headed.

To close, McWhorter welcomed public safety leaders to the stage from Stillwater Police (OK), Ramapo Police Department (NY), Gallatin County 911 (MT), Johns Creek Police Department (GA), and Wake County Sheriff’s Office (NC). The panel shared where modern technology is making the biggest operational difference, how real-time data improves decision-making, and real stories of community impact.

Session 2: Introduction to FirstTwo by CentralSquare

Presented by FirstTwo creator Niraj Shah and sales manager Helen Graziadei, this session started with a simple question. One that every first responder has asked:

“If I knock on a door, who is going to open it?”

Shah and Graziadei demonstrated how FirstTwo answers that question. The tool delivers real-time, actionable intelligence to public safety professionals before they arrive on scene. Using a map-based interface, it provides immediate context on an individual, location, incident, or active perimeter (e.g. who lives at an address, nearby risks, active warrants, camera locations, and more).

FirstTwo runs in the browser of any device and requires no additional hardware. It delivers visual or audio information en route, updated in real time. The result is faster decisions, better preparation, and safer outcomes.

FirstTwo is already in the hands of over 22,500 responders every week. But the best is yet to come. As FirstTwo becomes fully integrated across CentralSquare’s PSJ platform, accessing real-time intelligence won’t require a separate tool or an extra step. It will surface automatically inside CAD, RMS, mobile, and beyond—exactly when responders need it most.

Session 3: New Features for Dispatching and Call Taking

Dispatching is one of the most demanding jobs in public safety. Zac Boudreaux, Enterprise Product Manager, took the stage to show how CentralSquare is making it a little easier.

The session focused on the latest CAD enhancements for the Enterprise Suite, built to reduce cognitive load for call takers and dispatchers. These updates help heroes behind the scenes move faster, make fewer errors, and maintain data integrity during high-stress situations. Here’s what’s new:

Smarter Location Handling

• Improved GeoValidator accuracy and configurability.
• Ability to create incidents from a unit’s real-time location.
• ANI/ALI locations can now be mapped directly.

Faster Coordination Across Agencies & Units

• A single Agency Assist command can request assistance from another agency while automatically pulling location and call details.
• Off-duty units can be logged in during command actions, reducing multi-step workflows.

Cleaner, Safer Incident Management

• Closed Call Notifications prevent accidental edits and preserve an audit trail.
• Duplicate Call Warning improvements reduce append and link errors.
• Redesigned stacked incidents and queue enhancements surface the most critical information first.

Easier Call Notes & Incident Data Management

• Protocol summaries replace question-by-question clutter.
• Comment copy, filters, timestamps, and stringed commands give agencies greater control over how information is captured and viewed.

AI Summary With Centerline & FirstTwo

• AI-generated CAD and RMS summaries can be inserted directly into incident comments.
• FirstTwo integration adds surrounding address intelligence as attachments directly to the incident record.

Session 4: The Current and Future State of AI

AI adoption in public safety is accelerating fast, and there’s pressure to keep up. For law enforcement, 911 centers, courts, and corrections, the challenge isn’t just modernizing. It’s doing so while maintaining trust, transparency, and compliance.

Panelists emphasized that AI works best when it supports public safety professionals, instead of replacing them. CentralSquare’s Centerline AI was designed with that philosophy in mind. Built specifically for PSJ agencies, it integrates seamlessly across CAD, RMS, 911, and public administration systems.

Skepticism around AI is normal and even healthy. To combat common concerns, panelists shared practical, real-world applications of AI that are already making a positive difference:

• Transcribing body-worn camera footage
• Generating report narratives in minutes
• Retrieving records, permits, citations, and case information
• Answering non-emergency citizen inquiries in plain language

The data backs up the momentum. According to a 2026 Mark43 trends report, 93% of law enforcement agencies now support AI adoption. Real-world deployments are already processing tens of millions of case files, according to The Washington Post.

AI isn’t coming—it’s already here. Agencies that build governance early and modernize thoughtfully will be positioned to serve their communities.

Session 5: What’s New in 2026: Enterprise CAD, SAM and Mobile X

Zac Boudreaux returned to the stage for a deep dive into major platform updates across Enterprise CAD, Mobile X, and SAM. Where Session 3 focused on the dispatcher experience, this session zoomed out. It covered the modernization of workflows, usability, configurability, and situational awareness that benefit all users across the CentralSquare platform. Here’s what’s new:

New & Enhanced CAD Workflows

• ECT comment copy/paste
• Configurable ECT comment filters
• Improvements to the ECT Transport tab that expand functionality

Location & Incident Handling Improvements

• Apartment and building history tracking
• Configurable incident queue address formatting
• More flexible link and append options

Major Module Rewrites

Station/post management, premise management, and interagency security were fully redesigned to support a better user experience, tighter controls, and clearer cross-agency access.

Centerline & FirstTwo Integrations

• Added Integrations to CAD to retrieve data from Centerline & FirstTwo
• Added closest location information attachments

Mobile X Enhancements

• Mobile RAD (Resource Availability Display)
• An admin‑defined mobile landing page
• Expanded search (BOLOs, tow requests, unit activity)
• Improved MDM support for zero‑touch deployments

SAM upgrades

• Live auto-updating RAD
• Full BOLO creation and management
• Case number generation directly in SAM
• Queue enhancements including tagging

Dark Mode

Dark mode, one of the most requested user experience enhancements, is now available for CAD 26.

See You in Vegas

ENGAGE 2026 was a reminder of what’s possible when technology is built with purpose. Agencies respond faster, dispatchers work smarter, and communities are better protected.

The conference covered pressing topics in public safety. A unified PSJ platform. Real-time intelligence. Responsible AI. The sessions reflected the real challenges that first responders are navigating right now. Our PSJ customers left ENGAGE 2026 feeling inspired and ready to continue doing hero-grade work in their communities.

Want to set your team up for success next year? Save the date for ENGAGE 2027. We’ll be in Las Vegas, NV, April 18–21.