Jefferson City Police Department looks to new incentive program to fill vacancies (MO)

by | Jan 23, 2022 | Comm Center News

With personnel shortages at about 20 percent in some areas of the Jefferson City Police Department, city officials — like many employers today — are running into hurdles when it comes to recruiting and retaining employees, specifically police officers and communications operators.

However, city staff hopes a new incentive program will attract more potential hires and alleviate those hiring issues.

The Jefferson City Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday authorizing the police department to reinvest unexpended funds from the department’s personnel services budget in recruitment and retention incentives for police officers and communications operators…

Detroit 911 Improving Citizen and Community Services with NICE Inform (IL)

Detroit 911 Improving Citizen and Community Services with NICE Inform (IL)

by | Jan 23, 2022 | Comm Center News

Detroit 911 Center operates 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, serving 639,000 city residents within a 143 square mile area, and responding to over a million police, fire and emergency medical calls from the public annually. (Courtesy of the Detroit Fire Department Communications Division)
Detroit 911 Center operates 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, serving 639,000 city residents within a 143 square mile area, and responding to over a million police, fire and emergency medical calls from the public annually. (Courtesy of the Detroit Fire Department Communications Division)

Through this transformation, the 911 center expects to improve productivity, enhance staff performance and satisfaction and provide better service to citizens and communities.

Staffed by 30 highly trained licensed Public Safety Emergency Medical Technicians and Medical First Responders, the Detroit 911 Center operates 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, serving 639,000 city residents within a 143 square mile area, and responding to over a million police, fire and emergency medical calls from the public annually…

Challenges at 911 dispatch centers revive talks of consolidation on the North Coast (OR)

by | Jan 22, 2022 | Comm Center News

Jan. 21—After more than 20 years of on-and-off discussions about consolidation, Astoria and Seaside are evaluating whether to combine emergency dispatch centers.

Sheriff Matt Phillips said the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office has strongly supported the concept for years and believes a single countywide 911 dispatch center would be in the best interests of the public and emergency responders.

Staffing shortages at Astoria’s dispatch center reached a critical point last fall, prompting the city to temporarily move operations to Seaside…

AT&T and Verizon Communications reject request from Pete Buttigieg and the Federal Aviation Administration to delay 5G launch in the US

AT&T and Verizon Communications reject request from Pete Buttigieg and the Federal Aviation Administration to delay 5G launch in the US

by | Jan 22, 2022 | Comm Center News

  • The CEOs of Verizon Wireless and AT&T denied a request to delay a planned rollout of 5G wireless services on January 5. 
  • “The question of whether 5G operations can safely coexist with aviation has long been settled,” the executives wrote in a letter on Sunday. 
  • Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the Federal Aviation Administration had previously raised concerns over aircraft interference.

AT&T and Verizon Communications rejected a request from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the Federal Aviation Administration to delay the launch of 5G wireless services due to concern over interference with airline electronics… 

$10,000 PLUS DAILY PENALTIES?: Be Sure to Follow FCC Guidance to Avoid Big Fines Under Kari’s Law and Section 506 of RAY BAUM’S Act

by | Jan 22, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News

I’ve been receiving a number of questions about the roll out of Kari’s Law and I figured I’d do a quick post on it, even though it is not technically a TCPA issue.

At a high level the Act requires that multi-line telephone systems (including certain VOIP and cloud-based systems) have the ability to pass a 911 dial through the system without having to “press 9” or any other number. It also requires certain notification capabilities to held guide first responders to the “dispatchable location” of the 911 report… READ MORE

Dispatch may regionalize sooner as Southwick staffing dips (MA)

by | Jan 21, 2022 | Comm Center News

WESTFIELD — As the city renovates its dispatch center to accommodate the expansion to cover Southwick, staffing shortages may prompt the changeover to happen sooner than planned.

Westfield Public Safety Communications Administrator Nina Barszcz, who has been overseeing the regionalization effort, told the Public Safety Communications Commission last week that Southwick dispatchers have been leaving their jobs faster than planners had predicted. She said some dispatchers have opted to find new jobs now rather than wait until the beginning of full regionalization. The town is not hiring replacements…