Two California Agencies Contract Datamark for GIS Data for NG 9-1-1

by AllThingsECC.com | May 29, 2019 | Comm Center News

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Two California Agencies Contract Datamark for GIS Data for NG 9-1-1

San Mateo County commissioned Datamark to complete an estimated $400,000 data implementation project to ensure the accuracy and completeness of its address databases. The project, scheduled for completion in 2019, includes creating road centerlines, performing an address comparison evaluation, and aggregating geographic information system (GIS) data from existing sources into one database to meet the specific provisioning needs of the CAD system and NG9-1-1 requirements.

San Mateo County first engaged with Michael Baker International in 2017 on an enterprise technical architecture project to provide technical architecture recommendations. As part of that project, Datamark assessed the county’s public-safety communications department’s use of GIS data and process workflows. San Mateo County contracted Datamark in early 2018 to develop a quality assurance plan to implement the technical recommendations. The plan offered a road map of data sources, efforts and costs to address the dynamic goals of the project.

In addition, the Merced County (California) GIS Department awarded Datamark the nearly $109,000 contract to develop a master road and address database for use by public-safety agencies and enterprise planning committees. The project, which goes through December 2019, aims to increase both the completeness and accuracy of Merced County’s road and address database for address management and NG 9-1-1 GIS data preparation purposes.

Datamark will work with county professionals to assess and create the master road and address database from existing sources of address data. In addition to assisting the public-safety groups with the 9-1-1 and CAD systems, the newly created database advances Merced County’s readiness for the transition to NG 9-1-1. Enterprise planning groups will also leverage the complete and accurate address database to better serve roads, assessors, election and planning committees.

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Massachusetts Selects Consulting Firm for Final P25 Design

by AllThingsECC.com | May 28, 2019 | Comm Center News

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Massachusetts Selects Consulting Firm for Final P25 Design

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Interoperable Radio System (CoMIRS) serves as the statewide communications backbone and is used by municipal, regional and state public-safety entities for operable and interoperable communications and to dispatch emergency services in response to 9-1-1 calls.

CoMIRS provides operable and interoperable communications for 245 public-safety, transportation and environmental agencies throughout the Commonwealth. Of the nearly 30,000 radios active on the network, about 60 percent are used for daily mission-critical communications.

The project will build on CoMIRS’ initial P25 network design plans completed in 2017 by the commonwealth’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS). MCP will be responsible for confirming and revising the initial design plans, initiating site acquisition activities and developing a procurement plan for the network, which is intended to improve coverage, expand capacity, enhance 9-1-1 coordination and provide a sustainable funding model.

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Public-Safety Leaders Endorse New National Emergency Communications Plan

by AllThingsECC.com | May 28, 2019 | Comm Center News

Public-Safety Leaders Endorse New National Emergency Communications Plan

By Ken Bradley, CISA External Affairs

“There have been numerous advances in the world of communications and interoperability that have been created or advanced by SAFECOM,” said SAFECOM Chair Gerald Reardon. “The NECP has been, in my opinion, one of the most significant events, as it was responsible for several major changes across the country that are a direct result of its implementation. The NECP, coupled with the Public Safety Interoperable Communications (PSIC) grant program assisted in promoting permanent changes to the governance and the interoperability structure for the states and territories. The NECP was responsible for the SWIC (statewide interoperability coordinators) program, mandating official state governance, creation of the SEICs (statewide interoperable executive committees) tactical communications plans, as well as the validation and verification of the plans through required exercises.”

The NECP is in its third iteration — the first was in 2008, and the second was in 2014. The revised NECP includes a new emergency communications ecosystem graphic, which includes an expanded concept of the public-safety communications community to include supporting organizations, decision makers and citizens. Feedback was collected and incorporated into the revised NECP by members of public safety, including SAFECOM and NCSWIC, a public comment period, and stakeholder adjudication in early April. The plan is set to be publicly available later this year.

CISA is required to update the NECP periodically and the nationwide baseline assessment every five years. The newest update incorporates feedback and data from the 2018 SAFECOM nationwide survey and addresses the benefits and challenges of integrating new technologies into legacy systems, such as expanded capabilities as a result of broadband and next-generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1), as well as cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities.

“NCSWIC drives innovation by unifying efforts for all 56 statewide interoperability coordinators in a singular organization,” said Joe Galvin, NCSWIC chair and Illinois SWIC. “Through NCSWIC leadership, structure and collaboration the nation strengthens its coordinated interoperability effort through the individualized yet connected statewide interoperability coordinators all unified under a common set of goals aligned with the NECP. The NECP is a whole community culmination from NCSWIC and SAFECOM members representing all states, public-safety groups, associations and interested parties to advance and improve public-safety communications for our nation’s first responders.”  

The plan was endorsed during a joint meeting of the NCSWIC and SAFECOM in Pittsburgh April 23 – 25. During the meeting, Ron Hewitt, assistant director for emergency communications, briefed the group on the depth of CISA’s expanded services to assist public safety with cyber and critical infrastructure in addition to emergency communications.

“As our public safety and SWIC stakeholders respond to increasingly complex hazards, including cybersecurity threats, every minute matters to save lives and protect property,” Hewitt said. “CISA is committed to continue delivering products and services that respond to the rapidly changing technology landscape including LMR; broadband; 9-1-1/NG 9-1-1; and alerts, warnings and notifications.”

CISA was joined by federal partners from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), National 911 Program and the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), as well as local academic partners from Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh. The three-day event covered interactive panels; working sessions; and committee, working group and executive committee meetings. The agendas covered topics such as NG 9-1-1, broadband, cybersecurity, drones, encryption and smart cities.

Dusty Rhoads, CISA, opened up a cybersecurity session by discussing the importance of cybersecurity in the public-safety community and the inclusion of cybersecurity initiatives in the NECP. Michael Ogata, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Public Safety Communications Research Program, discussed how to leverage the NIST Cybersecurity Framework for improving critical infrastructure and cybersecurity. The goal of the framework is to provide a common language for cybersecurity policies and initiatives and guidance on how an organization can create their own cybersecurity initiatives. 

Mark Hogan, director of asset management, city of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Richard Jackson, information security manager, asset management, city of Tulsa; and Capt. George Perera, Miami-Dade (Florida) Police Department, provided real-world examples of cybersecurity attacks on local systems and their large-scale effects on surrounding organizations and response. Speakers emphasized using the NIST Cybersecurity Framework as a first step and tool when developing cybersecurity policies and plans.

Chief Jonathan Lewin, Chicago Police Department; Rob Dew, CISA; and John Contestabile, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory proposed engaging members of the two groups to establish a working group to further develop and implement an interoperability framework that addresses the need for users to access standardized, interoperable and consumable information at the scene. Lewin provided examples of data and information technology the city of Chicago has integrated to assist law enforcement in responding to incidents. Lewin’s examples showed a need for public safety to address this issue. 

Several SWICs provided updates on the NCSWIC State Interoperability Markers Program. The 25 interoperability markers, aligned to the SAFECOM Interoperability Continuum, are designed to collect key data about a state’s interoperability capabilities, in an effort to enable states to use data to drive strategic planning and funding and technical assistance requests. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia attended workshops in February and March to provide feedback and further refine the markers. All 14 workshop states/territories have now completed a pilot process to develop their baseline data collection, and their input is being aggregated and analyzed. CISA will begin collecting marker data from all states and territories during a set of regional meetings scheduled to begin this summer. It is anticipated that all marker data will be collected, aggregated and reported back to states by the end of the year.

“The public-safety strategic collaboration meeting with SAFECOM and NCSWIC was an invaluable opportunity for us to convene public-safety response and officials from across the nation to share best practices and resources around current technologies, discuss approaches for managing emerging technologies, and evaluate continued progress toward the seamless flow of voice, video and data communications,” said Chris Lombard, SAFECOM vice chair with Seattle Fire. “By working collaboratively to drive critical emergency communications interoperability goals, while addressing risks to implementation, the SAFECOM, NCSWIC and CISA partnership has the potential to vastly improve emergency responder capabilities both now and in the future.”

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