by AllThingsECC.com | Oct 20, 2021 | Comm Center News
Kirk Brueggeman, a police captain with 23 years of experience, has been named the next Director of Public Safety and the new chief of police in O’Fallon. In his role as director, he will be responsible for the city’s department that includes O’Fallon Police Fire Rescue, Emergency Medical Services and Metro East Communications, the 9-1-1 dispatch center for O’Fallon, Fairview Heights, and Shiloh. Brueggeman said he was grateful for the opportunity to serve and he looks forward to the challenge…
by AllThingsECC.com | Oct 20, 2021 | Comm Center News
By Brian Maass
DENVER (KCNC) — Denver’s 911 system is out of compliance with nationally recognized standards for answering calls as thousands of callers are finding themselves on hold when they call in to report an emergency.
Andrew Dameron, Denver’s Director of Emergency Communications, said “Obviously no one in the Department of Safety wants anyone to end up on hold when they call 911.”
A CBS4 investigation found it’s happening frequently…
by AllThingsECC.com | Oct 20, 2021 | Comm Center News
(Updated 3:40 p.m.) Organizations representing Alexandria police and firefighters are taking the city to task for what they say are chronic underpayment issues that put local residents at risk, but city officials say the push is a negotiation tactic in the ongoing collective bargaining discussions.
Local labor unions Alexandria Committee of Police, IUPA Local 5, and Alexandria International Association of Firefighters Local 2141 issued a joint press release decrying current pay conditions.
“Alexandria’s starting salary ranks 19th out of the 20 Northern Virginia jurisdictions, and we’re seeing how that impacts recruitment and retention.” said Marcus Downey, Vice President of the Alexandria Committee of Police, IUPA Local 5. “Through the first 9 months of the year, we have already lost 30 officers who have left for better-paying jobs, but we’ve only been able to hire 11 replacements. In a city where the crime rate has increased 15% since 2019, it is a safety risk for the community, and for our officers, when we can only replace 1 out of every 3 officers we lose…
by AllThingsECC.com | Oct 20, 2021 | Comm Center News
On Oct. 15, Gov. Andy Beshear and the Kentucky State Police announced that 16 telecommunicators representing 11 posts located throughout the commonwealth have graduated KSP’s in-house telecommunications academy.
Present-day emergency services communication centers require several qualities and characteristics that are imperative, including the ability to handle high stress, challenging conditions; flexible work schedules; empathy toward others and the ability to learn and adapt, especially in areas of technology.
The graduates of Class 18 received 196 hours of instruction over five weeks. Major training areas include legal liability, limits of telecommunicator authority, telecommunicator’s role in public safety, interpersonal communications, customer service, combating stress, ethics and confidentiality, responder safety, essential fire dispatch, state emergency operations plans, criminal justice information systems, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, first aid training, emergency medical dispatch and special needs callers…
by ECC Editor | Oct 19, 2021 | Comm Center News
PERRY CO., Ind. (WFIE) – Tell City and County leaders have come to an agreement on the future of county dispatch.
The two sides were previously split over the PSAP designation or who answers the call when you dial 911.
According to commissioner Tom Hauser, the agreement includes Tell City Police continuing to provide dispatch services, while a second dispatch operation will be established at the county courthouse annex.
We’re told equipment is already in place and budgeted for the annex… READ MORE
by ECC Editor | Oct 19, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
The upcoming generation of 911 technologies is exciting for a lot of people working in public safety today because it represents the first major upgrade in decades.
The idea that people at the scene of an accident or a crime will be able to not only call for help, but send first responders images and videos of what’s happening, holds great promise for those who’ve been charged with keeping the public safe. But with any new technology comes new security risks, and those who are designing the new system are thinking about that, too.
One of those people is Brandon Abley, a technical issues director with the National Emergency Number Association who also sits on an NG911 working group convened by the Federal Communications Commission. In an interview with StateScoop, he explained why he expects next-generation 911, though more complex than today’s systems, to also be more secure… READ MORE
