Fundamentals of Tactical Dispatch (new course) prepares public safety telecommunicators (PSTs) to work as part of an agency's tactical dispatch team that responds to incidents requiring multiple agency/jurisdiction coordination. Topics covered include the PST's role, preparation and pre-deployment training, radio communications and other issues specific to incidents requiring multi-agency coordination. The next course in the APCO Virtual Classroom is March 18-19. Additional dates are available.
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New dates have been added to the Virtual Classroom for some of our most popular courses:
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Applications for the APCO General Scholarship close at 11:59 p.m. ET on March 31. If you are looking to advance your career through any of APCO's courses or programs, this is a great opportunity to earn funds for those opportunities.
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Keep nominating the heroes in your life! The APCO awards program closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on April 1. Submit your nominations for the PSAP and Technology Awards today so we can honor the best of the best in public safety communications.
Submit a nomination
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Getting involved in the development of APCO American National Standards is an excellent way to contribute your knowledge as well as learn from your peers. We need volunteers who are producers of public safety communications equipment, products, processes, systems and services. You do not need to be an expert or an APCO member to participate. Deadline to express interest is March 26.
I’m interested
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On February 22, APCO filed joint comments with other public safety and critical infrastructure stakeholders to respond to the FCC Public Notice seeking comment on further expanding unlicensed use of the 6 GHz band. As background, last year the FCC adopted rules to permit hundreds of millions of new unlicensed devices to operate in the 6 GHz band, which is heavily used by public safety agencies across the country. The joint comments reiterated that the new rules present a significant risk of harmful interference and advised the FCC against further expanding unlicensed use.
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On February 25, legislation to improve communications networks during natural disasters was reintroduced in the House and the Senate with bipartisan support. The Emergency Reporting Act, among other things, would require the FCC to adopt rules describing the circumstances in which service providers must provide emergency communications centers (ECCs) with timely notifications of network disruptions that prevent the origination of 9-1-1 calls or the delivery of Automatic Location Information/Automatic Number Identification. The bill passed the House last year, but ultimately did not become law. APCO previously collaborated with Congresswoman Matsui’s office to make sure the bill includes important provisions that notifications be timely and in a format that facilitates situational awareness. Ensuring that ECCs have actionable outage information is a top legislative and regulatory priority for APCO.
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WRBIRADIO.COM
Senior Dispatcher Fred Poore of Decatur County (Indiana) Communications talked a caller through delivering a baby, which happened three minutes after the call began. He will be awarded the first stork pin since the inception of the communications department in 2016.
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The Herald
Public safety telecommunicator Telatha Graham wrestles with the death of her cousin, who was shot by police, and her role as a member of law enforcement.
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My MCM
Public safety telecommunicator Cameron Ivory of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Police Department gave step-by-step instructions in one of those calls, helping a couple who couldn’t get to the hospital before the baby arrived.
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CNBC
The funding, which is stalled in Congress, would allow better communication among internet providers, clearing the way to more accurate location information during emergency calls.
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WEAU 13 News
Helping someone escape from a flooding vehicle, rescuing an overdose victim and responding to a mental health crisis were some of the emergency responses noted by the governor. Among the individuals honored was Jane Bengtson, who was named public safety telecommunicator of the year.
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Leonardo da Vinci was a man of a great many talents, what one would refer to as a Renaissance man. Nowadays, this term has become interchangeable with the word polymath. Public safety telecommunicators can be the polymaths.
The modern and near-future demands placed on publ ic safety telecommunicators go far beyond the often-described skillset of a clerical position or “just a dispatcher.” A public safety telecommunicator is a protective job in more ways than one since we protect the public as well as other first responders.
Read the article, originally published in the March/April 2021 PSC Magazine.
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