Public Safety Mobility: Balancing Safety and Privacy Concerns

by | Nov 3, 2021 | Comm Center News, Report

There are two words that define how technology is changing policing for the better. Connectivity and mobility. These words pack power. Connectivity is the quality, state or capability of being constantly connected. Mobility is taking that connectivity with you, even when you are moving. For police officers, these terms encompass the ability to access critical information from a mobile device, be it a tablet computer, smartphone or wearable. Access this guide to learn how to address officer and agency privacy concerns while delivering constant connection via mobile technology and apps…

Centralized address database eases NG911 adoption (GA)

by | Nov 3, 2021 | Comm Center News

Several counties and cities banded together to better share information and improve 911 capabilities using a cloud-hosted spatial database.

Georgia’s Coastal Regional Commission (CRC), which does orthoimagery and lidar economies-of-scale projects through mutual peer sharing, noticed that the user groups had common problems with complying with Next Generation 911 (NG911) requirements. For instance, emergency response times could take more than 30 minutes when a call came from a hunting camp deep in the woods where there were no road names or geographic information system (GIS) presence… READ MORE

Santa Barbara to join other agencies in creating Regional Fire Communications Facility (CA)

Santa Barbara to join other agencies in creating Regional Fire Communications Facility (CA)

by | Nov 3, 2021 | Comm Center News

By Joshua Molina

Noozhawk Staff Writer

Santa Barbara will join other jurisdictions in the county to create a combined Regional Fire Communications Facility.

The city expects to pay about $756,000 to be part of the single communications facility designed to improve response times for fire calls.

The council voted 6-0 on Tuesday, Oct. 6, to move forward with a five-year contract to share the technology.

“This is absolutely the best thing for the community,” Fire Chief Chris Mailes said… 

Hiring Hoosiers: More 911 dispatchers needed (IN)

Hiring Hoosiers: More 911 dispatchers needed (IN)

by | Nov 3, 2021 | Comm Center News

INDIANAPOLIS — The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is trying to hire more 911 dispatchers.

“Every day, right now as we’re sitting here talking, there’s a 911 call being answered and someone’s getting help,” said Maj. Michael Hubbs. “A lot of our heroes carry guns. Some have capes. Our heroes have headsets.”

Hubbs says likely everyone will have to call 911 at some point in their life.

“A dispatcher is a very important job,” he said. “Actually in some aspects, it’s more important than a police officer or firefighter. And they’re required to do a lot. So we need the best caliber of a candidate to sit in that seat…

Dispatcher shortage revealed, arrests made in Albany church (NY)

Dispatcher shortage revealed, arrests made in Albany church (NY)

by | Nov 3, 2021 | Comm Center News

ALBANY — A fire at a landmark church that led to the arrest of four people also revealed staffing shortages in the city’s emergency dispatch center.

City police and firefighters were called to the former St. Joseph’s Church in the Ten Broeck Triangle neighborhood on Sunday — Halloween — after a group broke into the church and began ringing the bells and setting a fire.

The calls came on a night where the city’s dispatch center was under staffed, forcing emergency calls to rollover to other agencies for service…

The impact of FirstNet on tribal communities in a post 9/11 world

by | Nov 3, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News

By Margaret Gutierrez, National Tribal Government Liaison, First Responder Network Authority

Twenty years ago, the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our nation revealed fundamental problems with our emergency communications systems. Police officers, firefighters, and paramedics could not communicate across radio systems, and cell towers were congested with commercial usage. First responders’ inability to communicate on that fateful day underscored significant public safety communication shortfalls nationwide – including on tribal lands. READ FULL ARTICLE