WASHINGTON –Friday, August 9, 2019, the U.S.
Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Transportation
announced more than $109 million in grants to 34 states and two tribal
nations as part of the 911 Grant Program, which will help 911 call
centers upgrade to Next Generation 911 capabilities.
The funding
will power basic improvements such as providing digital and IP network
capabilities to 911 emergency call centers and will assist the
implementation of advanced mapping systems that will make it easier to
identify a 911 caller’s location. NG911 will help 911 call centers
manage call overload, as call-takers will be able to transfer calls,
messages, and data between public safety answering points that are
interconnected to the IP network. The 911 Grant Program also provides
funding for training costs directly related to NG911 implementation.
A former Valley County dispatcher says she was targeted and ultimately fired from her job after discovering that her supervisor was falsifying her own time cards.
Author: KTVB Staff
Published: 2:45 PM MDT August 9, 2019
Updated: 2:45 PM MDT August 9, 2019
CASCADE, Valley County — A former Valley County dispatcher says she was targeted and ultimately fired from her job after discovering that her supervisor was falsifying her own time cards.
Jennifer Giambo filed the lawsuit July 15 against the county, Valley County Sheriff Patti Bolen and sheriff’s office employees Capt. Jason Speer and Sgt. Kelly Copperi.
GeoComm is excited to announce their public safety mapping software solutions are being utilized in Baltimore County, Maryland’s 9-1-1 Center. APCO 2019 Conference attendees can see this software on display and get an inside look at Baltimore County’s 9-1-1 Center by participating in their APCO 2019 Conference Emergency Call Center (ECC) tour on Monday, August 12.
DAYTON — As a shooter opened fire in a busy Oregon District, killing nine and injuring 37 others, officers ran to take him down. Behind the scenes, dispatchers began taking calls from people panicking about what they were seeing.
“It’s their calming voice on the other end of the phone or the other end of the radio…that helps everybody get through,” said Capt. Jay Wheeler, commander of the Montgomery County Regional Dispatch Center, which fields calls for Dayton and several other surrounding cities and townships.
Wheeler said it was a female dispatcher who heard the officers call out reports that the shooter was opening fire on innocent people in the busy entertainment district.
Posted: Aug 9, 2019 / 09:44 AM EDT / Updated: Aug 9, 2019 / 03:12 PM EDT
CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office will soon be able to receive text messages sent to 911 for emergencies.
The agency began implementing its text-to-911 service on Friday.
The service is available for use by those who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or speech impaired. It can also be used in situations, such as domestic altercations, where it’s too dangerous to call 911.
The technology comes after the agency was awarded a $40,158 grant in June from the State of Florida Division of Management Services E9-1-1 Board. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also signed a bill that requires all Florida counties to implement text to 911 services.
“We are excited to begin offering text to 911 services to the citizens of Citrus County,” said Sheriff Mike Prendergast. “The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office strives to best serve every member of our community, and this is another step in the right direction.”
Despite weeks of discussion on consolidating dispatch with the
county, the Common Council instead is moving ahead on a vote to keep
dispatch within the Lockport Police Department.
In a closed-door
meeting with the council Wednesday, Lockport police union president
Kevin Lucinski made an offer to keep dispatch in-house and upgrade the
radio room equipment for a one-time cost of $272,000.
Mayor
Michelle Roman said the union has agreed to make concessions in return
for keeping dispatch, but declined to discuss specifics of the offer
until after Lucinski’s scheduled meeting with the city’s negotiations
committee Friday. Roman said putting the dispatch deal before the
council at its next meeting Aug. 21 “would be ideal.”
Lockport
police have pushed for continuing to handle their own dispatch, arguing
any deal that required the department to share a radio frequency would
put officers at risk, because there would be too much chatter on the
line.
Learn about current efforts to continue to protect the 4.9 GHz Band for public safety as well as recent filings, key decisions impacting these efforts, and how you can support PSSA’s initiative to protect the 4.9 GHz band for public safety.
