PSAP Commentary

Commentary

Better technology can help solve the public-safety staffing crisis

Every time I read about a public safety agency being short staffed, with a burnt-out workforce, draining their overtime budget, I feel their pain. From New York to New Mexico and in communities all across the nation, police and fire departments routinely are forced to mandate longer shifts, which takes an emotional toll and raises […]

Commentary

NG911 needed to secure our communities and nation

As the new Congress begins its work in earnest, we look forward to continued progress in funding the transition to IP-based next-generation 911 (NG911) technology. Our nation’s 911 systems are critical to ensuring the safety and security of our communities, and nationwide implementation of NG911 will ensure these systems can leverage the most advanced communications […]

Commentary

Swatting has serious implications and shouldn’t be ignored

A rash of “swatting” incidents occurred across the country in September. Swatting is the practice of falsely reporting an emergency to elicit a law-enforcement response, ideally one involving the SWAT (special weapons and tactics) team. As an example, Cincinnati-area high school was placed on lockdown when a 911 call was made to report an active-shooter […]

Commentary

Necessity indeed is the mother of invention

An adage regarding the stock market goes something like this: over any 20-year period, the market delivers a return on investment of about 10 percent, but every 20-year period—regardless of when it begins or when it ends—contains peaks and valleys that are driven by market conditions that change often, and often substantially. This adage just […]

Commentary

Partnership and collaboration must be the foundation for emergency communications

I’m from a little town in West Texas. As a Texan, I like getting straight to the point: I believe that emergency communications are a matter of national security. Because this message is so important, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has designated this April as the first-ever Emergency Communications Month. At CISA, we […]

Commentary

It’s time to give 911 professionals the recognition they deserve

It’s a common refrain among those of us who work in 911 centers that we don’t take compliments, we take tragedies. Whether the call is about a heart attack, a house fire, a shooting, or a natural disaster, we’re trained to handle each call calmly and quickly. Quite often, things happen so quickly that we […]

Commentary

Unlocking the power of ESInets: Different NG911 provisioning approaches exist; level of control is key differentiator

Next-generation 911 (NG911) systems represent a quantum leap forward for the public-safety community and the citizens that it serves. Internet Protocol (IP)-based and broadband-enabled, such systems are capable of considerably more than legacy 911 systems, which is why many emergency communications centers (ECCs) from coast to coast are clamoring to implement them. The broadband capabilities […]

Commentary

Public safety needs a better way to triage emergency calls

The overarching goal of the public-safety community is to ensure that 911 callers receive the most appropriate emergency response as quickly as possible. Lives often are on the line in an emergency, and every second matters. Achieving a balance between sending the optimal response to an emergency and having it arrive as fast as possible […]

Commentary

COVID-19 pandemic is causing unprecedented challenges for ECCs, 911 centers

We’re living in brave and unsettling times created by a global pandemic that has changed nearly all of our societal and operational norms in just a few weeks. No one and no business has gone untouched. What was unimaginable 30 days ago is all there is to read about today. What’s also getting a lot […]

Partner content

Coronavirus is a wake-up call. Are you listening?

The ancient philosopher Heraclitus once opined that the only constant in life is change. But there is another one that impacts every city and county organization and the officials who manage them—sooner or later a natural or man-made event is going to wreak havoc with your organization’s operations. In some cases those operations will come […]

Commentary

Better technology can help solve the public-safety staffing crisis

Commentary

NG911 needed to secure our communities and nation

Commentary

Swatting has serious implications and shouldn’t be ignored

Commentary

Necessity indeed is the mother of invention

Commentary

Partnership and collaboration must be the foundation for emergency communications

Commentary

It’s time to give 911 professionals the recognition they deserve

Commentary

Unlocking the power of ESInets: Different NG911 provisioning approaches exist; level of control is key differentiator

Commentary

Public safety needs a better way to triage emergency calls

Commentary

COVID-19 pandemic is causing unprecedented challenges for ECCs, 911 centers

Partner content

Coronavirus is a wake-up call. Are you listening?

Commentary

Things to know about IWCE 2024: The basics

Land mobile radio (LMR) systems are just as vulnerable to cyberattacks as any other networks used in the public-safety sector. Here’s what to do about it.

September 3GPP Plenary meetings feature Release 18 progress, Release 19 beginnings

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