A busy year ahead
If anyone is a true public-safety communications veteran, it’s Wanda McCarley. The Association of Public-Safety Communication Officials president began her career in 1969 and became an APCO member in 1970. She was a criminal justice major in the days when not many women worked in law enforcement, but since has earned the respect of her peers, and her lengthy resume includes hands-on experience in all phases of emergency communications. As the operations and training manager for the Tarrant County 911 District, McCarley is widely recognized by Texas’ regulatory agencies as a leading expert in the field of emergency communications. MRT recently discussed with her the challenges and opportunities facing APCO.
What are your top priorities as president of APCO International?
There are a lot of them. This is a critical time for public safety. One of them is to instill some continuity within the association, to get the organization headed in the right direction with some real forward momentum. We had a lot of changes in the board, with a couple of resignations in the last five or six years, and we have a real need to get that continuity back to where we had it. That means board members educating other board members and getting to where the industry really knows us and how to access information. That kind of continuity is important.
In addition, the 800 MHz rebanding issue has been a high priority for APCO because we want to ensure that first responders aren’t endangered by holes in radio coverage. As everyone predicted, it’s not an easy thing to accomplish. That has bubbled up to the top, and we’re working toward cooperative agreements with Sprint Nextel.
The 700 MHz issue also is important. We now have a hard date, and we would like to create some broadband channels in the middle portion of that spectrum. But we don’t want to disrupt the band plan that exists today for the voice channels … because it’s important to allow people to plan for interoperability and [other initiatives] they’ve awaited for so long.
Interoperability is the lingering problem in the public-safety market. How do you plan to address this issue during your tenure?
Interoperability certainly isn’t a new topic for the industry. We’ve been talking about it since 1935. I have, during my tenure in public safety, observed the good and the very worst. We lost two police officers due to a communications failure between helicopters and multiple cities. So it’s a priority for me. I believe we have made several stabs, but what we have missed is a holistic approach. We not only have to address technology, but people, cultural issues, training and policies. I think we are on the right track, and this time when we implement a fixed interoperability capability nationwide, we will do that in a holistic manner.
However, public safety in America is very much a local issue. A focused effort is needed to achieve coordination among local governments, police, fire and EMS, which is necessary to put interoperability into place. Then once you have it in place in your own area, finding ways to implement that in other states becomes a huge challenge. Having the right people at the table at the right time is very important.
What is APCO’s stance regarding Morgan O’Brien’s proposal for a public/private partnership in the 700 MHz band (MRT, June, page 52)? How does APCO feel about using commercial technology?
Public/private partners are important in today’s world. APCO is watching that with interest. There are a lot of details that need to be worked out.
Interest in commercial technology runs the gamut, from utilizing commercial networks to building out systems that are designed and engineered for a public-safety need. One of the things we need to come to the table on is the need for public safety to understand what commercial providers have available and what the potential is for first responders. It’s also important for commercial providers to understand [what] public safety needs and the apprehension we have about technologies. One of the things I’ve talked about is creating an APCO executive counsel to study this issue. I plan to make a proposal.
Following Hurricane Katrina, APCO was praised for its relief efforts. What has it learned from this experience in terms of preparing first responders to better respond to future disasters?
One of the things we’re doing now is partnering with NENA to develop a plan that would recruit the support from dispatchers across the U.S., so when dispatchers need relief, we have teams of people ready to go. One of the things we noticed is that most people understand the needs of police, fire and EMS, but dispatchers are not very visible. Most people don’t see them or hear from them unless they dial 911. So in Katrina, most people weren’t focused on these highly skilled folks who also need relief and help in coping with all of the impacts an emergency like this has on them. The goal is to help remedy that situation.
APCO President Wanda McCarley is operations and training manager for the Tarrant County 911 District. She is a certified instructor and curriculum developer and holds an advanced certification in public-safety communications from the state of Texas.
