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Dismissed Vigo County 9-1-1 director hired as Knox County interim E 9-1-1 director
KNOX COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - Knox County E 911 has a new interim director. The Knox County Commissioners hired Rob McMullen. News 10 talked with Commissioner President Kellie Streeter. She said there was an executive decision to find a new director. Streeter told us...
Advocacy group starts new program to help police, dispatchers with hidden hazards of the job
By: Jordan Vandenberge The OPBA began the mental health assistance program earlier this month. CLEVELAND — The program allows OPBA members to confidentially request mental health-related services. Marriage or financial counseling assistance is also included in the...
York County 911 dispatcher union cautiously optimistic about privatizing
Poor staff retention, over-reliance on overtime hours and other management woes have plagued the 911 center for years. A recent audit by New Jersey-based IXP Corp. stated that current management is not up to the task of implementing the necessary...
State police dispatcher honored, helped Malta mother deliver baby on Thruway
ALBANY — A state police dispatcher received praise this week after she helped a Malta mother in labor give birth off Interstate 90. The dispatcher, Troop G Communications Specialist Kim Carballo, took the call, dispatched the necessary first responders and then...
City police dispatcher accused of feeding information to suspected criminals
A recently dismissed dispatcher for the Fredericksburg Police Department has been accused of providing sensitive information to the targets of police investigations. Karen Lakisha Stephenson, 40, is charged with two felony drug-related charges and two misdemeanor...
Tips and Tricks to Make the Most of APCO 2019
Download the App for your conference at a glance. It will give you updates and notifications for schedule changes, reminders of key activities, and is right at your fingertips.
Dispatch issues at Vigo County 911
Another county office is battling an attack on its computers. This time.. it’s the Vigo County Sheriff’s Office. Over the weekend.. a malware virus infected its computer system and that virus has directly impacted the Vigo County 9-1-1 Dispatch Center. News 10’s Jada Huddlestun is live at the Vigo County Jail. She joins us now to break down what happened.
Support Group Helps MI Dispatchers Cope with Trauma
OTTAWA COUNTY, MI—For those who work as 9-1-1 operators, it's not a matter of if they're going to hear something traumatic, but when. "Not everybody can do this job," said Megan Ross, who works as a dispatcher for Ottawa County. "Some people can, some people can't,...
California governor touts 9-1-1 system upgrades
Citing the state’s desire to upgrade California’s analog 9-1-1 system microwave network to a digital platform, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently touted a $1 billion investment in emergency preparedness and response funding.
County to hire 4 new dispatchers to handle 911 call volume
Four new Anoka County Central Communications dispatcher positions were unanimously approved the Anoka County Board July 23 in response to a spike in 911 calls this year. According to Dee Guthman, deputy county administrator, dispatchers are dealing with a very high...
Scott County to amend budget for radio project
The Scott County Board of Supervisors will vote Thursday on an amendment to the 2020 budget to reflect changes resulting from the radio infrastructure project's bond issuance. David Farmer, the county's budget and administrative services director, told the board...
Hickory Club will urge council to keep dispatch at LPD
The Lockport police officers union is expected to urge the Common Council today to spend $272,000 to upgrade the police department's radio equipment and keep dispatching in-house. City leaders for weeks have discussed whether to let Lockport Police...
Emergency Communications Center members will 2.75 percent pay increases
Cost-of-living raises for 171 employees in three labor unions that will cost the city of Great Falls $480,676 over two years were approved Tuesday by the City Commission. "We are set for another two years in our bargaining process here," said Gaye McInerney, human...
Cole County launches interactive 911 program
JEFFERSON CITY - Residents of Cole County now have a way to provide more information to first responders before an emergency happens. The app, Smart911, allows people to create a "safety profile," so when they call 911 their information will be readily available to...
County to hire 4 new dispatchers to handle 911 call volume
Communications center takes 2,000+ inadvertent 911 calls
WAUKESHA, Wis. — The Waukesha County Communications Center is issuing a warning after receiving more than 2,000 inadvertent 911 calls last month. The agency is asking residents to be more cautious about dialing 911. "It takes resources away from people who really need...
State Police dispatcher credited with helping a woman give birth on side of I90
Mark43 Integrates CAD, RMS Data into COPLINK
RSS
Mark43 Integrates CAD, RMS Data into COPLINK
Mark43 a cloud-based public safety software provider, partnered with Forensic Logic, a provider of search technology and cloud-based information capabilities to law enforcement. The partnership will waive any integration or setup fees for the companies’ mutual customers to allow agencies to feed standard data from Mark43’s CAD and records management system (RMS) into Forensic Logic’s COPLINK X, a national search engine and analysis platform.
By integrating the two systems, the companies said they are making data easily accessible for public-safety officers. Mark43’s RMS allows for efficient report writing and case investigation management in the cloud, while the CAD seamlessly aggregates and displays data during emergency response. Forensic Logic’s search technology normalizes the disparate universe of law-enforcement data types and continuously optimizes its ranking algorithms to allow its users to quickly and easily access vital information.
Mark43 has already fed data into COPLINK, a data sharing product that Forensic Logic acquired in 2017. Forensic Logic will also connect a link analysis tool to Mark43’s data lake to provide a solution for intelligence units.
“We look forward to working with Forensic Logic to bring mission-critical visibility to law-enforcement processes,” said Florian Mayr, co-founder of Mark43. “By feeding Mark43’s data into COPLINK X through a seamless out-of-the-box integration, we’re providing our users with an easy solution to have all of the information that they need right at their fingertips.”
The offer will be valid through June 30, 2020, because this is a fiscal boundary for many agencies, and there is an option to extend.
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Wagoner County 911 dispatcher escapes kidnap attempt
Three unidentified men tried to get a 911 dispatcher into their car as the Wagoner County employee was leaving for the day behind the courthouse on July 26. At approximately 5 p.m., the worker was walking to her car after her shift near the storage building when the...
Meet the Host Conference Committee
There is NO “I” in Team, But There Is an “I” in “WIN”
By Tiffany Fuller
There is no “I” In Team, however, there is an “I” in WIN and this year’s APCO 2019 Host Conference Committee wins on all levels due to its singular focus on maximizing attendees’ conference experience.
The annual conference host committee is primarily responsible for supporting the Conference & Exposition Committee (CEC) to further the mission of strengthening the community by empowering and educating public safety communications professionals across the world. This year’s host conference committee is filled with a team of six amazingly talented public safety professionals who will run the conference behind the scenes, organizing speakers, arranging volunteers and creating memorable experiences.
If you’re going to run an award-winning APCO conference, then your going to need the “cream of the crop” to ensure success.
Meet the host conference committee for APCO’s 85th Annual Conference & Expo.
Robert Bloom, CMCP, RPL, CPE 2019 Chair
Bloom is an Industry leader with 30 years of public safety experience and is considered the captain of the host conference committee. Robert is committed to effectively leading the committee to ensure an epic experience for all attendees at the Baltimore conference and expo. Bloom currently works as the public safety systems administrator for the Department of Emergency Communications in Alexandria, Virginia, and is a member of APCO’s Cybersecurity Committee.
Captain Scott BrillmanLocal Flavor Chair
Brillman is the 9-1-1 Director for the city of Baltimore and has been working tirelessly to ensure that this year’s Baltimore conference is bodacious and unforgettable. As the local flavor chair, Brillman adds value to APCO 2019, offering options for the best conference experience while in Baltimore to include local entertainment, dining and must-see attractions. Scott is devoted to the emergency communications profession and the incredible public safety professionals that save lives every day. Brillman is also a huge dog lover and would rescue all of them if he could. Scott adores Baltimore so if you have any questions while you’re here or need advice, come say “Hi”!
Michael Fischel,Volunteer Co-Chair
Bronze Star medal recipient Michael Fischel is a former U.S. Naval officer who has served Fairfax County, Virginia, for 19 years as the public safety communications center director and eight years as the Fairfax County Police Department’s director of the Planning and Research Division. Fischel has since retired and is now an executive public safety communications/9-1-1 consultant, experienced in public safety communications operations, IT project management, planning and policy development, and law enforcement research and analysis. As the volunteer co-chair, Fischel has been instrumental in managing the coordination of volunteers and supporting the operational needs of the conference.
Tenea Reddick,Volunteer Co-Chair
Reddick began her career in emergency services over 17 years ago, as a 9-1-1 specialist, and is currently employed with the Baltimore City Fire Department as the 9-1-1 operations manager. Her involvement with APCO started four years ago as a speaker at the APCO 2015 conference in Washington, D.C. Reddick has since joined the host conference committee as the volunteer co-chair and has been responsible for the committee’s success in pre-planning and registering volunteers to ensure that all participants of this year’s conference receive the highest level of hospitality to make their conference experience more enjoyable.
Tanya Thompson,Operations & Logistics Chair
Thompson is a senior customer service representative for the city of Alexandria’s 3-1-1 and is new to the public safety sector, recently earning her master’s degree in business this past spring. Tanya serves as the emergency communications public information officer and works with city departments and staff in order to dispatch city service requests and provide information to the citizens of Alexandria. As the operations and logistics chair for APCO 2019, Thompson is behind the scenes planning and navigating complex operations making sure everything runs smoothly.
Tiffany Fuller, RPL,Communications Chair
Fuller is a native Washingtonian with 14 years of public safety experience. As the communications chair for the annual conference, Fuller realizes that communication is one of the most important components of running a successful conference. Therefore, she has collaborated with Motorola to streamline communications and to ensure a seamless radio experience throughout the conference. Fuller currently works as a fire and EMS public safety telecommunicator/CTO in Washington, D.C., for the Office of Unified Communications and has served on APCO’s Member and Chapter Services Committee and Editorial Advisory Committee.
Tiffany Fuller is a 14-year Public Safety Telecommunicator, Office Of Unified Communications, Washington, D.C.
SURVEY
PSBTA Releases Survey on First Responder Support for FirstNet Reauthorization
New Survey: First Responders Overwhelmingly Support Reauthorization of FirstNet
A new bipartisan national survey commissioned by the Public Safety Broadband Technology Association finds near- unanimous support among first responders for reauthorizing the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority)– the agency overseeing America’s dedicated public safety broadband network.
PETITIONS
Congress should reauthorize the FirstNet Authority now.
Support the reauthorization of the FirstNet Authority to preserve public safety’s network
PSBTA UPDATES
Podcast
FirstNet and the 4.9 GHz Spectrum
This episode dives into the critical evolution of public safety communications, focusing on the recent FCC decision to establish a nationwide Band Manager framework for the 4.9 GHz spectrum, and discuss the evolution and deployment of the FirstNet System. Host Chris Tubbs interviews Chief Jeff Johnson, a leader in public safety technology and the development of FirstNet. Together, they explore the history, governance, and transformative potential of FirstNet and the 4.9 GHz spectrum in enhancing public safety operations with emerging technologies like AI, 5G, and augmented reality. The discussion emphasizes the importance of protecting and optimizing public safety spectrum, the lessons learned from past advocacy efforts, and a call to action for public safety leaders to remain engaged in ensuring the spectrum’s effective use and governance.
LISTEN TO PODCAST
GRANTS
Webinar
Accessing Federal Resources When an Emergency or Major Disaster Strikes
In light of the major disasters that our nation has recently experienced, PS Grants is offering this FREE webinar to review Disaster Assistance Programs and how to access them. Learn what federal funds and resources are available through Disaster Assistance, understand the process of requesting assistance, know what to expect before, during, and after, and find out who to contact for help.
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