TiPS - Today in Public Safety

RapidDeploy CEO, Co-Founder, and Industry Disruptor Steve Raucher talks to Fletch to discuss the imminent migration to Cloud for 911 PSAPs - and what we can do now that they are there. Don't miss this exciting clash of wits between these 2 hardheaded technologists.

CALLING ALL NENA MEMBERS - TIME TO VOTE !!! Voting for NENA’s 2020-2021 Board of Directors is now open! Be sure to watch for your OFFICIAL EMAIL from @911NENA911 with your special link to cast your vote. This is YOUR organization and YOUR voice int he industry. Vote for your new leaders TODAY#

While attending 911 GTW in Washington this year, I had the extreme honor of being joined by FCC Deputy Director of Public Safety and Homeland Security David Furth and get a complete rundown of Kari's Law and the RAY BAUMS Act §506 requiring Dispatchable Location being sent to 911 centers.

It's always a great opportunity to sit down with Kim Scovill, executive director of @iCERT1st and long term prior director of the NG911 Institute. iCERT has been on a wild growth spurt, increasing in size by 30% this past year, adding major logos like Amazon and Microsoft to the list of members and directors. We talk about what iCERT does and the impact on the industry that is created by its presence.

While attending the NENA GTW2020 event last week, the NG-911 Institute Tech Showcase featured several speakers on tech. John Chiaramonte from Mission Critical covered cybersecurity, and sitting right next to me was cyber-guru Chuck Spaulding from Palm Beach County. Both joined me for an informative and enlightening podcast that you shouldn't miss!

Once again I get to say 'Mahallo' to my dear friend who traveled nearly 6000 mils to be with us in Washiungton DC. Davy and I talk about NG-911 in the Paradise State and why she brought folks representing the entire public safety community to @911NENA911's GTW Congerence 2020.

Each year in February, the NG-911 Institute awards Public Safety officials and vendors various awards. This year the private sector award goes to a dear friend and colleague, Tracy Eldridge from RapidSOS. Well deserved and overdue, this award goes to someone with a passion for the industry and the mission. Congrats Tracy!

Eddie Reyes is a 30 year Public Safety veteran and the Director of 911 for Prince William County in Va. A long term supporter of NG911, Reyes talks to Fletch about the deployment, critical info that will be available and touches on Steve Souder did to build the foundation for NG911 in the NCR. This s a great history lesson of the District's Public Safety history, and a view of what's to come. Don't miss it!

This year, Corporate Comedian, and a good friend of mine (@GregSchwem http://GregSchwem.com/) Was the headline comedian for the APCO Executive Board meeting here in Las Vegas. How did he do? Listen and find out!

For years States have failed to report, or plainly diverted funds collected in the name of 911. If one Legislator has his way - That wont happen again. Listen to the problem, and the fix - The 911 Fee Integrity Act in this audio version of my latest blog.

This year while at NENA 2018 in Nashville, I had the opportunity of sitting down with Jim Marshall the author of The Resilient 911 Professional. This is a comprehensive read that is of great for anyone in the industry, or related to someone in the industry. The softcover is available on Amazon.com.

This year while at NENA 2018 in Nashville, I had the opportunity to take some time out with Davlynn Racadio, a dispatch supervisor for the Maui County Police Department in Hawaii. Working in Paradise is great, but it is a job like any other. Davlynn shared with me some heroic actions during the recent missle attack warning mishap and the bravery of the staff. We also talked about NG911 and the impact on the Islands. Great insight from a 31 year 911 vet in the middle of the ocean.

A great pleasure of my job is the opportunity to discuss current issues In the public safety industry with some of the most relevant, and sometimes provocative, thought leaders out there. One of those is @BarryFurey, An NG911 staple in the industry, and someone with many opinions on many topics, as you'll hear in this 30 minute Podcast we recorded. Lots of questions, maybe a few answers, and certainly our share of controversy. Enjoy this long episode chock full of great discussion!

NENA, the National Emergency Number Association is the voice of 911. We had the opportunity to sit down with the Executive Director, Brian Fontes, and reflect on the 911 Celebration in Haleyville, the importance of Standards in NG Public Safety and their position as the keeper of the NENA i3 NG911 Technical Framework, the universally accepted standard in the US and Canada, and the basis for European NG112 compatibility requirements.

While in Haleyville, AL for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1st call to 911, Fletch talks to Tracy Eldridge of RapidSOS about the event, as well as her continuing battle to educate both call takers and the public on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that can have a lasting effect on many brave men and women in this industry.

Admiral David Simpson, the former Public Safety and Homeland Security Executive Director at the FCC and now a Professor at Virginia Tech, talks to Fletch about the history of Haleyville, and the roots of the town seeded deep in the cotton industry that drove the industrial revolution and the increased need of emergency services. The Admiral spoke on the future of 911, and what will be required of centers regarding their cyber policies and protection required.

What a great honor to be with 911 legend Steve Souder in Haleyville AL to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the very first 911 call in the US and reflects on a 911 history of his own that spans nearly the same time.

While in Haleyville Alabama at the 911CelebrationEvent at the town hall, Fletch Got the opportunity to sit down with @CalebBranch, the director of Blount County 911 in Alabama. Lots of views on NG911, the impact of 5G LTE on mobile dispatch, and new models to expand the current centers beyond the 4 walls that exist today. Great podcast with a future leader in AL 911!

911 call takers across the United States answer an exorbitant amount of calls for assistance. While the bulk majority of these are real and life threatening emergencies, there are the nonemergency calls that are made out of poor judgment, or the lack of understanding of what an emergency number is really designed for. On top of this, a very small percentage are what are known as "Frequent Flyers". They get this nickname, not for being regular travelers in the friendly skies, but for constantly using, and in many cases abusing, local 911 emergency services.

It's no secret that in 2017 humans and machines generated 2.5 quintillion bytes of information daily on the Internet. To give you an idea of how big this is, this would fill 10 million Blu-ray discs, which if stacked, would measure the height of four Eiffel Towers on top of each other. With this much data being generated, we reached a point in our lives when humans can no longer be expected to process information at a usable rate by themselves. This is where the "Age of Artificial Intelligence" needs to come into existence if we are going to utilize this information in any useful way.

Earlier this week, a 911 dispatch error led to the death of a Missouri police officer. How? What happens after you place a 911 call? I join Steve Kraske to discuss the technology of emergency dispatch systems and the 911 network. - CONTENT ORIGINALLY AIRED ON @KCUR 3/9/18

Fletch talks to Benoit Vivier, the Public Affairs Manager for EENA, the European Emergency Number Association about the latest announcement from Apple to add the AML functionality to iOS 11.3 that will increase location accuracy in cellular devices! Will it come to the US???

On 6 October 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed civil protection professionals to thank them for their work on the recent fires & hurricane in the French territory. In this context, he set out his vision for the future of emergency services & the safety of citizens.In light of recent attacks and weather-related disasters, the French President highlighted the need for a public warning (reverse-112) system, considering it a “national priority”.

Public Safety systems are critical to the well being of our citizens, Unfortunately when a disaster strikes, agencies responsible for providing assistance may have their communications impacted as well. The 6 simple steps may help ensure the integrity of your system, and prevent an outage or improve recovery times. To report a hurricane related outage and escalation, visit http://support.avaya.com

Handset-based location, Public warning, aTransnational database, Direct access from private networks (in recognition of Kari's Law), and Accessibility of communications for persons who have a disability were all part of this ground breaking legislation improving access to 112 across the European Union.

Ever considered sitting for the Emergency Number Professional (ENP) Certification test? The NENA Institute Board has approved an electronic testing program for all ENP examinations. These testing periods consist of a two-week time frame scheduled four (4) times a year. Visit http://www.nena.org/?page=ENP for additional information and testing dates.ENP study groups are a great way of preparing for the ENP Certification test. If you are interested in participating in a ENP Study Group, you can now contact a Virginia Chapter of NENA Executive Board member to participate. Open to all.

NENA Government Affairs Director Trey Forgety talks to Fletch about ransomware attacks occurring exploiting a patchable vulnerability in some systems. PSAPs should take extra precaution on protecting their systems from attack.

The national 911 program Office releases the 6th Edition of their updated Next Generation 911 Standards compilation http://911.gov

NENA releases 2 important documents for Public Review and Comment on ESInet design and Call Blocking procedures to protect PSAPs from TDoS attacks from a known source. For more details see http://dev.nena.org

Gary and Fletch provide a look behind the scenes of the NENA NIB and the annual question review and selection session for the 2017 ENP exam. They also discuss the changing industry and how technology has driven evolution and standards.