Public Safety Advocate: Last 2021 Issue of the Advocate, Holiday Wishes, My Comments on 4.9 GHz Filed with the FCC

Public Safety Advocate: Last 2021 Issue of the Advocate, Holiday Wishes, My Comments on 4.9 GHz Filed with the FCC

Last 2021 Issue of the Public Safety Advocate

Happy holidays to each and every one of you, whichever holiday you observe! As you celebrate, remember all the people who are working over the holidays so we can enjoy the season—first responders, law enforcement, dispatchers, nurses, doctors, the military, and the many others who are on duty to keep us safe.

The holidays have been spread out more than normal this month. Hanukkah was early, Christmas is still two days away, Kwanzaa starts December 26, and special days for other religious groups are sprinkled through the month…

Sidney, North Saanich join call for province to delay downloading of 911 dispatching costs (Canada)

Sidney, North Saanich join call for province to delay downloading of 911 dispatching costs (Canada)

Residents of Sidney and North Saanich face higher taxes unless the provincial government delays plans to download 100 per cent of emergency dispatching costs.

The two are among eight south Island municipalities – Langford, Colwood, View Royal and Sooke are also affected – that are subject to an agreement in which senior levels of government share the cost of RCMP E-Comm 9-1-1 dispatch services. The province covers 70 per cent of costs, the federal government the rest…

Dubuque County 911 project sees benefits, growing pains (IA)

Communications between Dubuque County’s 911 communications staff and rural fire departments are experiencing some growing pains in what officials say otherwise has been a beneficial overhaul of emergency communications.

In September 2017, Dubuque County supervisors voted to bond for about $10 million to revamp the emergency communication system to meet the latest federal standards. The project included new radio towers, upgrades at the Dubuque 911 Emergency Communications Center and a system of digital pagers for the county’s many volunteer fire departments…

Police Communications celebrate milestone for civilian operators (Australia)

Civilians and police officers working side by side in an operational environment – while commonplace nowadays within the Queensland Police Service (QPS), this has not always been the case.

In 1996, a decision was made to train and include civilian staff members in our Communications centres, where their roles included answering emergency calls and dispatching police crews.

Some years on, we are now celebrating 25 years of civilian communications operators…

Commissioners discuss 911 progress: Rogers County 911 call center answered 99.99% of calls with in 20 seconds in 2020 (OK)

Rogers County Commissioner Ron Burrows said the consolidation of the Rogers County Communications Center is almost completed.

Director of the Northeast Oklahoma E911 Trust Authority, Vicky Atchley presented a list of accomplishments by the RCCC at Monday’s regular Rogers County Commissioner’s meeting.

NOETA began dispatching for Pafford EMS in Dec. 2020. Atchley said this significantly improved call response times… READ MORE

Alert Issued For Android Glitch That Could Block 9-1-1 Calls From Going Through

An urgent alert has been issued regarding Android phones that could cause devices to “freeze” when making an emergency call.

The glitch apparently causes Android phones to lock up when attempting to make a 9-1-1 call as the device attempts to share location with emergency service officials, rather than connecting with police or other agency.

According to officials,  “unintended interaction” between Microsoft Teams and the Android operating system renders cell phones unable to place outgoing calls to 911… READ MORE