New app allows people to call 911 using only their voice (CO)

New app allows people to call 911 using only their voice (CO)

by | Mar 3, 2022 | Comm Center News

A Coloradan created the app and worked with Jefferson County law enforcement agencies during the pilot.

ARVADA, Colo. — A new app launching Monday, e-BodyGuard, could help anyone in an emergency call 911 using just their voice.

Melissa Faith Hart lives in Colorado. She’s the founder of e-BodyGuard, which can be voice-activated within 30 feet. According to Hart, the app provides a dispatcher a person’s precise location and records audio as soon as the call is made.

“What if you could voice activate something and they are on the way and they are there for you?” Hart said…

Minneapolis 911’s interim director admits she has no public safety experience. She’s one of the city’s highest-paid employees (MN)

by | Mar 3, 2022 | Comm Center News

In the midst of a record-setting violent crime wave in the city of Minneapolis, the person in charge of the city’s 911 center admits she does not have the necessary qualifications to run one of the city’s most important public safety departments. 

Lynn Anderson was appointed as interim director of the Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center on Feb. 19, 2021. 

She took over during a critical period for the dispatch center. The pandemic, riots, and unrest resulted in significant staffing shortages that still plague the department today… 

Seattle to pay $220000 in last-minute police, dispatcher hiring bonuses authorized by Durkan (WA)

by | Mar 3, 2022 | Comm Center News

The Seattle City Council voted Tuesday to retroactively authorize $220,000 in hiring bonuses sanctioned by former Mayor Jenny Durkan on her way out of office, condemning Durkan’s actions and calling for reform.

Last month, council members became aware of a last-minute maneuver by Durkan to extend her order offering the bonuses beyond a sunset period set by council, after 5 police officers and 14 9-1-1 dispatchers had been offered the incentives after Jan. 1, when they believed the program had ended…

911 system upgrade needed (NY)

911 system upgrade needed (NY)

by | Mar 3, 2022 | Comm Center News

Discussions regarding updates to the 911 Communications System that serves Paducah and McCracken County residents continued on Monday.

Members of the 911 Communication Oversight Committee asked representatives of Federal Engineering, Inc., a firm that specializes public safety communications consulting, questions about the best way to move forward with system improvements.

The main concern for the 911 system is its radio system, which includes handheld radios, radio infrastructure at the 911 Center and radio towers. The radio system reached its end-of-life in 2018, according to a previous Sun report…

Kootenai County Sheriff blames rising living costs, lagging wages for staffing issues (ID)

Kootenai County Sheriff blames rising living costs, lagging wages for staffing issues (ID)

by | Mar 3, 2022 | Comm Center News

Sheriff Robert Norris said wages haven’t kept up with booming housing costs in Kootenai County.

KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho — Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris held a press conference on Wednesday to talk about crime, including the shooting death of a Hauser man on Monday night and other larger-scale trends.

But Norris also took time to talk about what he said were staffing issues in the sheriff’s office spanning multiple areas, including the patrol division, the county’s emergency communications center and county jail staff.

According to Norris, Kootenai County’s population has grown by almost 40,000 people from 2009 until now…