Posts From External News Source
City, County Eye $400K System amid Tough Fiscal Climate
January 25, 2011Santa Fe — The city’s fire and police chiefs want to raid a reserve fund to buy mapping software they say would help get emergency vehicles to the scene faster. If their proposal manages to win approval in this time of tight budgets, they say the days of police officers and ambulance crews flipping though map books while responding to calls could be history.
Read full articleMid-Winter Hamfest in Kane County, Ill.
January 25, 2011Kane County, Ill. — Jim Robbie of Moline pulled a Zenith Radionic vacuum tube from his pocket and proclaimed, “These are hard to find, and this is a good place to find it.”
Read full articleCenter Looks for Reaccreditation
January 24, 2011Huber Heights, Ohio — On Saturday, a team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. arrived to examine all aspects of the Huber Heights Public Safety Communications Center in its effort for reaccreditation.
Read full articleDelayed 9-1-1 Response Raises Concerns
January 20, 2011Williamson County, Tenn — As a stranger circled her home, pulling on doors and windows at 2 a.m., Robin Ribeiro was pleading with a police dispatcher. It was 40 minutes before an officer arrived on scene. The delay with blamed on staffing shortages and the wireless 9-1-1 call being routed to the wrong agency.
Read full articleUniontown Man Jailed for Four Alleged 9-1-1 Pranks
January 20, 2011Greensburg, Pa. — A Fayette County man is in jail over police allegations he made four prank calls to a 911 call center, causing police to break down a woman’s door in one instance and to surround an unsuspecting family’s home in another.
Read full articleRamsey County’s Outdated 9-1-1 Center Will Be Evaluated
January 20, 2011Ramsey County, Minn. — The Ramsey County Board on Tuesday approved two contracts with consultants to evaluate the emergency dispatch system used by 16 communities in the county, including St. Paul. It’s the first major step in what could be a multimillion-dollar upgrade or replacement project likely to involve political debate.
Read full articleCausing a Hang-Up Is a Crime
January 19, 2011Oklahoma City — Hanging up on 9-1-1 operators is a crime in Oklahoma, and so is interfering with someone else’s efforts to make an emergency call. It’s a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $4,000 and a year in jail.
Read full articleDakota County 9-1-1 Dispatchers Have Helped Deliver Seven Babies in the Past Year
January 18, 2011Minneapolis — As an emergency dispatcher for more than 25 years, Diane Lind of the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office never had to help deliver a baby by phone. But, as the supervisor of the Dakota County Communications Center, Lind has experienced a population explosion of baby delivery assistance calls made by her dispatchers.
Read full articleVallejo, Benicia Won’t Combine 9-1-1 Dispatchers
January 18, 2011Vallejo, Calif. — Vallejo and Benicia public safety departments have decided against consolidating their dispatch centers, officials said. The plan would have resulted in a six-fold increase in the volume of fire calls routed to Benicia dispatchers, Benicia police officials said in August. Benicia gets about 2,000 calls annually; Vallejo, 12,000.
Read full articleFederal Communications Commission Releases Agenda for Jan. 26 Narrowbanding Workshop
January 18, 2011The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) today released the agenda for a workshop on VHF/UHF narrowbanding to assist licensees in completing the transition to narrowband radio communications by January 1, 2013. The workshop will be held on Wednesday, January 26, 2011, from 1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305).
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