Alexandria, VA – The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International is seeking comments for the candidate American National Standard (ANS) for Detecting Early Warning Symptoms of Stress in the Public Safety Telecommunicator.

This standard has been designed to serve as best practice guidelines for public safety communication personnel in identifying symptoms of stress and provide tools to assist in mitigating the effects of stress. As emergency communications centers (ECCs) continue to evolve, the stress for these professionals increases, in part due to exposure to videos, pictures and text messaging.

“Stress is a well-known challenge in the public safety arena,” said Angela Batey, APCO International President. “We continue efforts to address important issues related to the ECC’s workforce. This standard establishes the benchmark for identifying early warning symptoms of stress and providing resources to reduce and manage these symptoms.”

The public may review and comment on this candidate standard from September 2 through October 17, 2022: APCO candidate ANS 3.111.1-202X Detecting Early Warning Symptoms of Stress in Public Safety Telecommunicators

For questions, email apcostandards@apcointl.org or contact the Standards Program Manager at (469) 424-7599. For more information on APCO standards activities, please visit our website.

APCO International® (www.apcointl.org)
APCO International is the world’s oldest and largest organization of public safety communications professionals and supports the largest U.S. membership base of any public safety association. It serves the needs of public safety communications practitioners worldwide – and the welfare of the general public as a whole – by providing complete expertise, professional development, technical assistance, advocacy and outreach.