Interruptions to the public’s ability to reach 9-1-1 are a serious concern. As a practice, APCO does not comment on specific outages until we are confident that the causes are fully understood, but here’s what we know about outages in general. 

This week, President Joe Biden issued a letter recognizing this year’s National Public Safety  Telecommunicators Week. In 1993 when President Biden was a Senator, he introduced the first Senate resolution to designate the second week of April as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. President Clinton signed an official proclamation for NPSTW in 1994, and this new Biden letter is the first presidential recognition since then.
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This year we asked you, our public safety stars, to tell us about the movie that describes your emergency communications center (ECC). Now that voting is about to close, scroll through the entries and “like” your favorites to give them a chance to win breakfast or lunch for their ECC. Thank you to Naylor Association Solutions and NGA for sponsoring this year's contest prizes.

While you’re on the site, check out the letters, videos and news stories recognizing public safety telecommunicators. We hope you had a good NPSTW 2024, and we appreciate all that you do!

Registration closes soon for Fundamentals of Next Generation 9-1-1 in Arlington, Texas, on May 1 - 2. Course content will address what NG9-1-1 needs to mean, key requirements such as cybersecurity and interoperability, impacts on operations and staffing, procurement principles, SOPs for data storage/retention, quality assurance, and more. The cost is $343 for APCO members and $365 for non-members. Earn 16 CDEs.
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The Registered Public-Safety Leader (RPL) Program is for public safety professionals seeking to develop advanced supervisory and management skills for successful emergency communications center (ECC) operations. The RPL Program is online and includes topics such as management dynamics, enhancing team performance, building communication skills and more. Programs begin monthly. Now accepting applications for the May, June and July RPL programs.  Learn more

April is Autism Awareness Month. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) takes this opportunity to share the Children on the Autism Spectrum: 911 Telecommunicator and Dispatcher Checklist, developed in collaboration with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Autism Society of America and The Arc; and funded by U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance - Office of Justice Programs. Visit the NCMEC website for the downloadable checklist and other helpful information on autism.

On December 1, 2023, Telecommunicator Amy Wilson, of the Northwest Central Dispatch System in Illinois, answered a call for a subject with a knife at a residence. The caller was slurring their speech and was difficult to understand; therefore, officers were dispatched with the limited information that could be obtained. Amy was able to locate some history of previous police responses and quickly relayed that information to responders. Thank you, Amy, for your commitment to professionalism and the safety of your responders.
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Browse upcoming training at the APCO Institute:

Virtual Courses

• Communications Center Manager, 1st Edition (24 CDEs) — May 14 - 16
• Fundamentals of Tactical Dispatch (16 CDEs) — May 14 - 15
• Emergency Medical Dispatch, 5th Edition (32 CDEs) — May 28 - 31

In-Person Courses

• Arlington, TX: Fundamentals of Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) (16 CDEs) — May 1 - 2
• Kewanee, IL: Active Shooter Incidents (8 CDEs) — May 9
• Huntsville, AL: Communications Center Manager, 1st Edition (24 CDEs) — May 20 - 22  

Online Courses

• Customer Service in Public Safety Communications (8 CDEs) — May 8 - 28
• Surviving Stress (8 CDEs) — May 8 - 28
• Communications Center Supervisor, 5th Edition — May 15 - June 18

See the course schedule

San Mateo Awards  Federal Engineering Contract for Microwave and Land Mobile Radio Support