On July 16, APCO filed comments in two different FCC proceedings dealing with reliability and resiliency for 9-1-1. One of the proceedings deals with the effectiveness of a voluntary industry commitment to promote resilient wireless communications and situational awareness during disasters. The other proceeding concerns the FCC’s 9-1-1 network reliability rules. APCO’s comments make several recommendations, with a common theme being that PSAPs need to receive real-time, actionable information about any outage that affects the public’s ability to contact 9-1-1. Read APCO’s comments
By now, you know that APCO’s Annual Conference and Expo is taking place next month in Las Vegas. During the conference APCO holds several
meetings and educational sessions where attendees can learn more about what we offer as an association. If you have already
registered for APCO 2018 or are thinking about it, below are a few of these must
attend events:
During the general business meetings, members and non-members can hear updates from APCO leaders and our federal partners.
Are you curious about APCO's Agency Training Program Certification? We have a session on Sunday, August 5, at 9:30 a.m. where you can learn more about certifying your agency's training programs. Looking for help with your staffing and retention needs? APCO Project RETAINS will be featured in a session on Sunday at 2:45 p.m. To learn more about becoming an APCO Adjunct
Instructor we encourage you to stop by the Think Tank Session on Sunday, August 5, at noon for an informal chat or attend an informational session in the APCO Institute Resource Room on Monday, August 6, at 3:00 p.m.
And don’t forget to stop by the APCO Pavilion to talk with staff about membership, training,
certification, frequency coordination services, standards and more.
If you haven't already registered, there is still time. Register here
Melissa is currently serving as 9-1-1 Communications Director for the City of Roswell Police Department in metro Atlanta, GA. Her duties include all aspects of management, direction, coordination, training and quality control of the 31-person PSAP. Prior to this position, Melissa worked at Orange County Emergency Services (NY) where she spent the majority of her career in the training division. Her passion is teaching telecommunicators how to improve their performance, focusing specifically on topics like active shooter incidents, crisis negotiations and the core telecommunicator classes.
Melissa is a graduate of Marist College and has recently completed APCO’s Registered Public-Safety Leader (RPL) Program. Her focus and priority is to be a mentor, coach and positive role model to members of the 9-1-1 community. Melissa also serves on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Association of Women in Public Safety. She is an experienced instructor, conference coordinator and participant in various public safety areas.
In her spare time, Melissa enjoys family gatherings, volunteer work and quality time with her dog.
On July 25, 2:00-3:30 p.m. (ET), the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, in coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will host a free webinar on the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts. Topics will include: a description of these alerting systems and how they work; who is eligible to initiate alerts and how they are authorized; how authorized alert initiators are trained; lessons learned from recent alerting events, including the Hawaii false ballistic missile alert; recent FCC regulatory actions and changes under consideration; and recent FEMA updates to IPAWS. Register
APCO International is seeking comments on a Candidate American National Standard (ANS) 1.113.1-201x that provides agencies with a guide for processing incidents and can be used as a tool for improving performance.
Exploring the evolution of mobile police radio
By Ray Grimes
Police radios in the United States first appeared around the late 1920s. The first efforts were fraught with challenges, where the Department of Commerce (preceding the Federal Communications Commission) was not supportive of the concept or value of police radios. Radio equipment drift (frequency instability of transmitters and receivers) severely degraded reception reliability and clarity.
WSBT 22
Katie Pease, a telecommunicator with St. Joseph County, Indiana, 9-1-1, has been on the job for three and a half years before meeting in person one of the people she assisted.
WCSH
Tourists in Lisbon, Portugal reached the Lisbon, Maine emergency service after finding themselves trapped in an elevator. The public safety telecommunicator was able to provide help anyway.
Melissa is currently serving as 9-1-1 Communications Director for the City of Roswell Police Department in metro Atlanta, GA. Her duties include all aspects of management, direction, coordination, training and quality control of the 31-person PSAP. Prior to this position, Melissa worked at Orange County Emergency Services (NY) where she spent the majority of her career in the training division. Her passion is teaching telecommunicators how to improve their performance, focusing specifically on topics like active shooter incidents, crisis negotiations and the core telecommunicator classes.
