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It’s much improved with easier reading. The line width/paragraph size now stretches to your screen size.
The new address is
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Winter might be a good time to train your officers on laws and regulations. Call up DHS and see how they can help you train your local law enforcement.
http://www.fletc.gov/training/programs/state-local

Mobile data in emergencies.
And in the high tech department, here is a satellite system for mobile units. Extremely advanced and low profile, this system is made for the worst case scenario when all local communications are down. Doesn’t happen often but when it does you may need a satellite phone.

RAASYS Satellite phone for mobiles.
Images of roof mounted RAASYS antenna here.

There are many ways to dispatch people. There are vendors that specialize in emergency dispatch, or computer aided dispatch (CAD). CAD products for public safety can be quite complex, having to integrate with 911 AVL, GPS, trunked radio, private data systems, and records management systems. Some departments try also to integrate jail management into CAD systems.
A good rule of thumb is to not overly complicate dispatch for the people who do the dispatch job. The operators and dispatchers must be able to easily operate the system with efficiency and minimal training. A police CAD project or upgrade can easily fail because of problems with dispatch operator issues.

Here are a few dispatch companies that specialize in CAD for public safety.
www.versaterm.com Canadian company that many agencies use.
http://www.plantcml.com/ An American company that has many products for emergency markets.

CAD accessories needed for communications (trunked radio and 911 telephony)
http://www.motorola.com/governmentandenterprise/northamerica/en-us/solution.aspx?navigationpath=id_803i/id_1260i

For good reading on dispatch operations and dispatch technology read http://www.911dispatch.com/db/index.php. 911Dispatch.com also has a great list of CAD vendors here.

We all know communication is key in emergencies. What happens with our modern tools of communications during emergencies? Your organization might want to look at your communications plan and brainstorm how to best use email, voicemail, cell phones and the like. Each has it’s place and seat at the roundtable.

You may find that your response to a emergency event is needing improvement. Maybe a drill or even a real event showed that your organzation was too slow to communicate key information. You may want to look at how a emergency messaging system may work to your benefit.

For an example, look at the 3N notification system here. I just tried the demo of their system. You might want to try it, it’s impressive. It records the receipt of the voicemails and emails, which can be a good thing. Also lets you record voice audio via their web page for broadcast out to people. The audio recorder on the webpage seems to work ok, but I wonder if they have a phone number anyone could call to broadcast out messages? It seems like that would be most useful for voice messages. Also it probably needs to be something people use every now and then, or else they will forget how to use it effectively in an emergency? Think of how such a system could benefit your organization. . .how you could enable email or other voice systems to better distribute information.

Text or voice?
I suppose there are people who say text is better in an emergency, and to avoid verbal orders. But voice, well you can argue it is our natural way to communicate. Voice messages are much easier to compose during a urgent event. The context of either voice or text messages has to be taken into consideration, and messages with no descriptive background information are usually the ones that may lead to confusion. Train your people to take an extra 30 seconds to describe why they are sending the message at THIS time. People commonly will lack empathy for others unless the messages are descriptive and easy to read from an outsider.

www.3nonline.net

I noticed the new Taser can be equipped with a low light camera for recording. My thought was, why not record the deadly weapon also, the officers gun?

There is a good discussion here why and why NOT to have gun cameras. There are still many police units that have no cameras at all. None in the car either.

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/10/31/police-testing-gun-c.html
Gun Camera http://www.wrex.com/printable.php?ID=22973
When an officer pulls his gun from the holster, the digital recording begins.
Read the rest of this entry »

Fyi:
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/ataglance/networks/Accessing_BlackBerry_Data_Services_Via_Wi-Fi.pdf

If you didn’t understand that, here is my take on it:

Any functionality that the BES server has for web/email/network will go over the wifi (802.11) if it is available. This is creates a very secure path for data that never leaves our private network. Meaning no internet worries. . .if you have them. Possible CLETS and DOJ compliance for criminal data queries.

I talked to a sales guy today at blackberry. He said you need to do the following:

1. Setup a profile for that 802.11 network on the phone. Put in the key or security to access that wifi network.
Then when wireless is turned on, when in range of 802.11 and connectivity is possible, data connection moves from carrier network to the phones wifi.
All data goes over 802.11, yet phone-voice still over existing carrier signal.

2. Look for the “Wifi” indicator, which shows on the top right hand of screen. Normally would show “EVDO”. Shows “WIFI” when you are on the private wifi network.

The good: You get data and emails while talking on the phone. Something not possible with existing blackberry phones.
The bad: One problem is when phone goes out of WIFI area, the phone will switch to EVDO for data access, which will go over the internet.
The bad: With two radios working, you probably more cancer causing radiation from the phone. Use Bluetooth to minimize radiation to your head!

Maybe the blackberry application could detect if WIFI is there and only send data that way.
Two phones have this feature:

8820, 8320.

A new technology called UMA (voice) will allow these devices to do both voice and data over the 802.11 wifi networks. Few carriers have this now. Tmobile has is available but not for blackberrys.

He mentioned the new BES software will have IT policies for the wifi. This will enforce what you can and can’t do with the WIFI. That will be incorporated in the middle of next year.

Today on this sunny Friday morning we come to the end of the exercises of Golden Guardian. Many lessons where learned as with any training exercise. Press release from Anaheim:

ANAHEIM, CA - (November 14, 2007) -

The City of Anaheim will join with San Jose and Stockton as the three California cities participating in Golden Guardian 2007, a statewide homeland security and disaster preparedness exercise, on November 14 and 15. The Anaheim event will take place in a simulated emergency environment in the Angel Stadium of Anaheim parking lot, starting promptly at 10 a.m.

More than 3,000 first responders from local, state and federal agencies throughout California will take part in this annual event at the three cities.
Locally, the cities of Anaheim, Santa Ana and the County of Orange, working with the consulting firm EG&G and funded by the money received under the Department of Homeland Security’s Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), have planned an emergency exercise that will allow Southern California police, fire and medical personnel prepare for their response to an emergency incident.

As an added result, these agencies will also be able to conduct joint information activities, test risk communication procedures, analyze intelligence communications networks and information flow, examine coordination of mass evacuation, mass care and shelter, mutual aid, HAZMAT (hazardous materials) team response, USAR (Urban Search And Rescue) capabilities, mass fatalities and vulnerable population needs. The exercise will also assess private and public partnerships during an emergency response and recovery.

Golden Guardian, created by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004, is the largest exercise program of its kind in the nation with the goal of better coordinating the activities of city, county and state governments, volunteer organizations, and the private sector to prepare for, respond to and minimize the effects of a manmade of natural emergency.

One of the recent wildfires had a special audience. That audience was the workers at Loma Ridge, California where a central communications outpost is at. The fire burned nearby brush but never endangered the facility. Here is some information on the CCCS and the very complex and redundant 800mhz voice system used in Orange County, California.

The Santiago Fire started at 1755 hours on Sunday, October 21,
2007. For the first several days the 800 MHz Countywide Coordinated Communications
System (CCCS) was the primary radio system used by all first responders Read the rest of this entry »