NCCoE Releases Cybersecurity Guide for First Responders – Infosecurity Magazine

NCCoE Releases Cybersecurity Guide for First Responders – Infosecurity Magazine

by | Sep 8, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News

The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released the final version of a Cybersecurity Practice Guide for first responders.

The NIST Cybersecurity Practice Guide SP 1800-13, Mobile Application Single Sign-On: Improving Authentication for Public Safety First Responders (PSFRs) was developed in collaboration with industry stakeholders and NIST’s Public Safety Communications Research Lab.

To provide emergency care and support, PSFR personnel rely on mobile platforms to access public safety data. Among the data that PSFRs must access in the performance of their roles is personally identifiable information, law enforcement sensitive information, and protected health information…

Transition underway for unified dispatch in Henry County (AL)

Transition underway for unified dispatch in Henry County (AL)

by | Sep 8, 2021 | Comm Center News

HEADLAND, Ala. (WTVY) – Henry County first responders are in the process of transitioning to a unified dispatch. The county’s E-911 director believes it’s a move in the right direction for the citizens.

E-911 Director Chad Sowell says this is about providing the best emergency response service.

“The transition has just been getting equipment installed at the city of Headland for the Headland Police Department, making sure we can accommodate the extra call volume,” Sowell said…

911 Dispatcher Keith Thornton Jr., On Duty When Officer Ella French Was Killed, Shares The Many Lessons He’s Learned And The Powerful Connections He’s Made (IL)

911 Dispatcher Keith Thornton Jr., On Duty When Officer Ella French Was Killed, Shares The Many Lessons He’s Learned And The Powerful Connections He’s Made (IL)

by | Sep 8, 2021 | Comm Center News

CHICAGO (CBS) — Keith Thornton Jr. was the guiding voice during our city’s most recent line-of-duty tragedy – the murder of Chicago Police Officer Ella French.

The Office of Emergency Management and Communications dispatcher was applauded for his decisive action over the radio that night.

CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey sat down with Thornton to talk about that night — and his campaign to change the future for dispatchers in the future…

9/11 NYPD Dispatcher to Newsmax: Need Unity, Compassion Again (NY)

by | Sep 8, 2021 | Comm Center News, Opinions

Candace Baker, a New York Police dispatcher on Sept. 11, 2001 who spent the whole day taking missing persons calls, tells Newsmax that Americans need to return to the sense of unity and compassion that united them in the days following the terrorist attacks that left nearly 3,000 fellow Americans dead.

“I think that immediately after 9/11, you saw a lot more kindness,” Baker said Monday on “The Chris Salcedo Show.” “You saw a lot more camaraderie. You saw a lot more respect for law enforcement.”

But as time has passed, a lot of that has diminished, she lamented… READ MORE

Jasper County 9-1-1 emergency call center needs callers (MO)

Jasper County 9-1-1 emergency call center needs callers (MO)

by | Sep 8, 2021 | Comm Center News

JOPLIN, Mo. — More and more emergency dispatch centers are seeing “help wanted” signs.

The Jasper County 9-1-1 call center has seen openings staying at three to four positions. The Joplin city dispatch currently has five positions unfilled.

They’re just part of an industry-wide trend that has national rates at 15 – 20 percent. The Jasper County dispatch director says the job requires a unique set of skills…

EMS Dispatch (Nepal)

by | Sep 8, 2021 | Comm Center News

Emergency Medical Dispatch System

Nepal Medics is working to open the first emergency medical dispatch center in the history of Nepal. Nepali citizens who have a medical emergency will be able call a toll-free three digit number that will connect them to our dispatch center. A trained Dispatcher will receive an emergency call and then, using a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Terminal, route medically trained responders to the scene. Our Dispatch System – currently in the testing phase – uses geomapping to allow Dispatchers to send the nearest trained responders to the emergency. The entire dispatch process will utilize smart phones to communicate, dispatch and log pertinent information. This new system will also record data that we can utilize to make educated performance enhancements to our response protocols. We are proud to offer the Nepali people the current best technologies and practices in the Emergency Medical Services profession, and our commitment to the quality of these systems means that a donation to this project provides a system that will last to a people who need it…