Chicomm Blog

Public safety agencies are pros at maximizing their resources to go above and beyond with less, and the new trends in emergency vehicle equipment reflect that ability.

One common theme across the newest products is that they pack as much power into as small a device or as little space as possible. From three-in-one exterior lights for police cruisers to small mobile radios with oversized controls for firefighters, equipment is working harder, not larger, to keep first responders safe.

The start of a new year is always an exciting time to look ahead at new features and functionality, so here are some emergency vehicle equipment trends for 2017:

Many of the best public safety blogs are written by law enforcement, for law enforcement. But in addition to connecting officers across public safety agencies, blogs can also be an effective way for law enforcement to engage with their communities.

Police departments around the country are using public safety blogs to further their overall community policing strategies, with the ability to quickly disseminate information, offer the public a glimpse into the world of policing and even get a laugh or two.

Here are 7 reasons your agency might want to consider publishing public safety blogs.  

As more police departments – and state legislatures – weigh the use of police body cameras, cost has emerged as the leading barrier. In addition to funding the equipment, training and maintenance, departments and municipalities must also cover the considerable cost of storing video footage.

Storage costs, in fact, have proven to the be most expensive part of a body camera program, according to a Department of Justice Report, “Implementing a Body-Worn Camera Program: Recommendations and Lessons Learned.” 

“Storing videos over the long term is an ongoing, extreme cost that agencies have to anticipate,” said Captain Thomas Roberts of Las Vegas in the report. While the cameras generally range in cost from $300 to $800 per officer, which is a fixed cost, the bill for storage can be close to $1,500 per year, per unit, which is an ongoing cost.

Law enforcement agencies across the country are coming up with creative solutions to minimize their storage costs for body cameras, so let’s take a look at three of them.

Much has changed about public engagement for public safety agencies since the days when officers were encouraged not to interact with the people on their beats and not to get too attached to any one community or neighborhood.

Today, departments around the country are successfully engaging with the public outside of strictly law enforcement activities to build mutual trust, relationships and connections. Some departments have gotten particularly creative in their public engagement work, making officers a presence in communities beyond walking the beat, while giving members of the public unique opportunities to be heard. Agencies are also using wireless communications technology to keep in constant contact.

By building dialogues online and in person, here are some examples of public safety agencies that are making public engagement a two-way street. 

Your police public information officer (PIO) is in charge of developing and implementing your public safety communications strategy, and chances are, they’ve got some things they’d love to change.

Because PIOs’ primary responsibility is to interact with the news media during emergencies and situations that are of the public interest, it’s tempting to think that’s where their jobs begin and end. But PIOs also serve an important community relations function and can coordinate communications during large-scale events – if they’re given the room to do so.

Here are five public safety communications strategies that we bet your police PIO wants to change.

It’s been almost a year since a coalition of national 911 organizations formed with what they called an “aggressive but achievable” goal of transitioning all emergency call systems and call centers to next generation 911 by 2020. In the months since the coalition announced its intentions, progress has been made, but the question still remains: Will next generation 911 meet its 2020 goals?

We don’t have a crystal ball handy to answer that question, but we can offer some insight about what progress has been made recently and how far the experts say there is to go.

As we’re starting a new year, it’s a good time to ask yourself – and your agency: Is our command center stuck in the past? Your center has countless moving parts, all of which need to be properly maintained, serviced and upgraded. But budget concerns, higher-profile priorities and a shortage of resources may mean your upgrades keep getting put on the back burner.

The beginning of a new year offers the opportunity to put your command center front and center. Here are 5 new year’s resolutions to strengthen your command center:

Public safety blogs are a great way to keep up on the latest trends in technology for first responders, the new upgrades that are available and the innovative ways that agencies are using communications to keep communities safe.

The best public safety blogs represent a variety of perspectives and geographies, and they’re written by everyone from police chiefs to telecommunications executives. Many are updated frequently to keep readers consistently informed about public safety issues, and some of the ones we’ve compiled may be helpful gems that you’ve previously overlooked.

As we look forward to the new year, here are six public safety blogs to read in 2017:

Official Blog of the International Association of Chiefs of Police

With new posts several times a week, the blog of the IACP features insights on various aspects of policing, from community engagement to the group’s Benchmarking and Analytics Tool. It’s a good place to learn about what kinds of interventions and technology other agencies are using and have found to be successful.

The 911 communications firm West’s Safety Services has been selected to develop and operate the 911 National Emergency Address Database (NEAD) platform, a move that brings the country’s first responders closer to better locating wireless customers who call 9-1-1 from indoors.

“We agree with the FCC that providing a dispatchable address to our public safety partners is the ‘gold standard’ that the industry must pursue,” Kearney said. “We’re passionate about the NEAD project, which we believe will more effectively assist first responders in locating wireless callers.”

Motorola Solutions has rolled out a new APX 8500 all-band mobile radio with a host of new features aimed at reducing interruptions in everything from voice communications to software upgrades.