Wednesday
Exhibitors were giving away prizes, generally to those who filled out registration cards. Some of the best: a digital camera, a Palm Pilot and the book "Chateau 911, The Emergency Guide to Fine Wine." Even the APCO v-p election got into the act--they offered a raffle for voters, with a remote control aerial ladder truck toy as the prize.
Guess who's backing-up Cindy Cline, Jefferson County (Colo.) dispatcher and presenter? Her sister Cathy, who's also a dispatcher. The word is out about Cline's Thursday session about how to prepare for the unexpected--APCO moved the session to a larger room and 300 handouts have been copied for the event.
At the election result announcement, Jack Keating quipped, "I've never seen so many people at a business meeting." Of course, the free food and prizes might have been the attraction.
What movie was playing on HBO during the Minneapolis conference, and who was in it? It was "Wrongfully Accused" starring Leslie Nielsen, with small parts by John Walsh and former CHP commissioner Maurie Hanagan. The movie parodies "Fugitive" and the crime pair run across Nielsen in a Minnesota general store while he's on the run.
Overheard on the exhibit floor: "You and I will have to put our heads together and develop a strategy on this one." It wasn't clear if the two were customers or vendors.
Election Suspense Is Broken
Trade Show & Education Sessions Continue
Second Vice-President Election Results Announced
Site Selected for 2004 Conference
by Gary Allen, Editor
The third day of the annual conference of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) focused on the exhibit hall and meeting rooms, where manufacturers displayed their latest products, and presenters continued sharing a wide variety of information with attendees.
But simmering on the sidelines was the voting for second
vice-president by APCO members in a corner of the exhibit floor. It's necessarily
been a civil campaign, yet one of the most contested in recent association
history. Voting continued to be steady during the trade show, and it wasn't
until 4 p.m. that the results were announced.
Huddled next to the stage were president Jack Keating, past president Joe McNeil, president elect Joe Hanna and the two candidates. A crowd of about 400 crowded in among buffet tables to hear the results. McNeil, who had been monitoring the voting, handed Keating a folded red piece of paper and Keating announced the results--Thera Bradshaw had won.
Bradshaw appeared to move to the stage steps a moment before the announcement, then came on stage to talk to the crowd. As she did so, several persons in the crowd yelled out, "Happy birthday, Thera!" She hugged Keating (photo left) and then stepped to the microphone. She was noticeably touched by the results, and revealed, "I'm leaving my 40s today!" She acknowledged her opponent, Lex Rutter, pointed to him and said, "Lex, you're a gentleman." She also noted the "rich legacy of leadership" that she as joining, and thanked the voters for their confidence in her. Afterwards, she hugged and shook hands with many persons in the crowd, including Roxann Brown.
During yesterday's events, APCO announced that Montreal (Canada) had been chosen as the site for the 2004 annual conference. Reaction to the selection was very positive among the members, and several commented that, "This will give me time to save up for the trip!"
Outside the convention center, it was "Fire Department Day," and there was apparatus on display, including a Minneapolis fire boat, fire chief's car, engine and midget hovercraft. There was a Minneapolis/St. Paul airport crash vehicle, aerial from Coon Rapids, command van from Brooklyn Park [interior 1 2], and dive rescue van from Brooklyn Center [interior].
Telephone Priority
Among the advantages of an annual meeting is the ability to find information--from companies and individuals--quickly and easily. The trade show is one way, and that's where we found representatives from the National Communications System (NCS), a civilian agency of the Department of Defense. They were promoting their Government Emergency Telecommunications Services (GETS), which allows local agencies to obtain priority access to the public switched telephone system in times of emergency at 15 cents a minute.
The system is dependent upon a working telephone system, but allows authorized users (a PIN is required) to bypass congestion controls, and receive so-called high probability of completion (HPC). After registration, one simply dials the GETS access number (710-NCS-GETS), enters a PIN and the called number. For information on registering, contact Zachary Johnson at NCS (703-607-6225).
Live Phase II
One of the more interesting demonstrations on the exhibit floor was by a group of companies trying to convince agencies that Phase II wireless 911 is here today, with little cost, and with little or no modification to the 911 or wireless carrier network. The team consisted of KSI Inc. (location gear), Rural Cellular Corp. (wireless carrier), CML Public Safety Systems (comm center gear) and GeoComm Corp. (mapping & routing subsystem).
The companies had two telephone set-ups, and two projected map screens, both linked directly to the nearby Grant and Douglas County 911 systems. Two persons using wireless phones were in the field making calls (actually, they dialed 811), and upon being answered, the map software displayed the location of the caller (it uses a network-based, angle-of-arrival method). According to representatives of KSI, its system works with antenna sites up to 20 miles apart, and can transmit the caller's phone number, the antenna site information, and the location as latitude and longitude over the existing 911 network. Only if the PSAP wishes to display the information in map form does software have to be added in the comm center.
Beyond the technology of the demo, it was interesting to see a group of vendors attempting to jump start Phase II by demonstrating that "It's here now." During some other seminars and panel discussions, it seemed as if Phase II was tied up in regulations, politics, standards, the FBI and loads of other obstacles. In fact, Phase II is just steps away from every PSAP in the country--if only. Contact KSI at (203) 741-5600. www.ksix.com
Keys and Schedules
Does your CAD software use function keys across the top of the keyboard, or obscure key combinations to perform certain commands? How do your part-time or on-call dispatchers retain all these keys so they can work efficiently? The answer seemed obvious while standing at the booth of BSP, which manufactures great-looking keycaps for any type of keyboard. The keys come in almost any color (pink, lavender and other pastel shades could spice up your center!), you can have lettering on the front, and on several position on the top of the keycaps, and the lettering itself can be different colors.
BSP says they do a lot of work for the video editing industry, which uses computer keyboards to perform hundreds of commands. Prices vary, and include a one-time set-up fee and a per-set charge, with discounts for more sets. The company handles every stage of the process: they'll send you a keyboard template that you fill out with your lettering, the company provides feedback on your set-up, they prepare a final graphic proof, they produce the keys and ship them to you.
The keycaps seem a natural solution to obscure ALT, CTRL or SHIFT keyboard combinations. And they seem to a natural to help new dispatchers learn the system, and part-time and on-call dispatchers stay proficient. In fact, even long-time dispatchers may not recall every CAD command, and could simply check the keycaps for the answer. Contact BSP at (307) 778-9612, in Cheyenne (Wyo.). www.BSPus.com
Not everyone was in perfect shape after two days on their feet. So APCO offered massages in their pavilion to anyone who wanted to "freshen up." The Project 25 portion of the pavilion was also crowded most of the day, as many of the compliant vendors displayed gear that meets the digital standard.
One interesting booth was by Intergraph Public Safety, who formed a fort-looking booth built of bamboo, and using a jungle motive. Every few minutes the sound of a volcano would sound, the squawk of parrots would stop, and steam would appear from the top of the booth. Products? What products?
Who's On First Shift?
No computer software will answer you most pressing shift schedule problem: How can I cover all shifts with five dispatchers, with just 12 employees? On the other hand, a software-based scheduling program is worth its weight in gold when trying to keep track of employees work schedules, overtime, sick leave, vacation and other events that affect staffing.
SpeedShift by InTime Solutions Inc. is a full-blown scheduling program that runs under Windows 98/NT. It has the standard features that allow entry of names, shift configurations, and then allows you to enter any special days-off, to come up with a schedule that shows you if you're over or under-strength. You can map the over/under to get an graphic idea of how you're staffed, and it prints out a variety of management reports on group or individual sick leave use, vacation available, etc. It handles split shifts, allows comments, displays conflict alerts, can output HTML for Web posting, prints pocket-sized shift calendars for dispatchers, and even download the data to a Palm Pilot computer. The software is $800 and InTime offers a demo disk if you'd like to evaluate it first. Contact them at (800) 315-1755. www.intimesoft.com
Who Is Radio Man?
We don't know who is walking around the APCO pavilion dressed in an all-black outfit, as posing as Radio Man. But we do know that he' the namesake of APCO's new Radio Frequency User Group (RFUG). The group "has emerged from the mists of abstraction to remind (radio techs) of their history and revitalize the image and stature of the RF technical industry," according to APCO.
"Times have been rough on the common RF guy and gal," said the first issue of "RFUG Report," the group's newsletter. "What was once a premier technology has lost it justly-deserved place on the pillar of technology to a slew of Johnny-come-latelies. These new guys have forgetten (sick) their roots."
The radio engineer and technician once held an esteemed place, but, "If something isn't done quickly, (they) will become a true relic," the piece said, tongue in cheek. APCO hopes the new group will create a network of knowledgeable people to help solve problems encountered by other members. The first issue of the newsletter had stories on the FCC's new application dismissal policy, licensing tips, and on the FCC's National Coordination Committee.
The Mapping Phase
Ten years ago, no one knew about mapping software--and no one cared. Now, mapping is built into most CAD program, and everyone knows what GIS means. One company has been mapping for a long time, and has been focusing on the public safety communications for the past three or four years--ESRI. Their ArcView and other mapping software constitute some of the most powerful available on PCs.
Their booth had information on grants the company is giving to law enforcement agencies that total $568,000. All levels of government are eligible, and must agree to use the GIS for law enforcement purposes, share project successes with other agencies, and "become a reference site for ESRI." They're giving priority to proposals that involve collaborations among several agencies or departments, innovative approaches to crime fighting, and "broad based community approaches" to crime and quality of life issues.
The company also Fire View, a third-party add-on that provides fire station and incident location analysis, and inspection tracking; CrimeView Internet that allows Web-based inquiries on map data; and CATS, which allows an assessment of the consequences of disasters.
FCC Says, "Get Ready"
The enforcement of FCC regulations is about to receive a kick in the pants, and it could reach all the way to your comm center. According to Riley Hollingsworth of the commission's compliance unit, FCC Commissioner Michael Kennard wants the agency to have the same enforcement respect as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the IRS. To that end, the FCC has already started a regulatory push in the amateur radio arena, and expects to reorganize and shift resources to allow more enforcement in the land mobile arena by October 1st.
Hollingsworth painted the change as a positive one that will help stop
interference by licensed and unlicensed users alike. "The entire theory
of regulation is based on enforcement," he said. He 
acknowledged, but
did not directly comment on, the recent notice of violation and forfeiture
($2,000) issued against the city of Redondo Beach (Calif.), who was found
to be operating on a radio frequency (KMM563) one year after their license
expired. Apparently the incident was an oversight, but the FCC is taking
the position that a violation did occur and, regardless of the circumstances,
a forfeiture is owed.
How Long Can You Talk?
Dictaphone has upped the ante for recording radio broadcasts and telephone conversations. Among other features, its new Freedom models can save to a variety of media, including Iomega's ZIP disk (60 channel hours), up to three DVD drives (1,200 to 3,600 hours), a SNAP network hard disk (up to 7,600 hours), Procom Technology's Netforce 100 file server (36,000 hours), or even larger, more complex IBM disk arrays with 43,000 channel hour capacity.
By the way, channel hours are composed of the total call or transmission time of all your lines and channels connected to the recorder. Figuring 20 total recorded channels and an average of 20% busy time, a 43,000 hour system wouldn't have to be change for almost 18 months! Of course, you'd pay a bundle for the biggest storage option, but managers should appreciate the flexibility that the Freedom recorders allow.
A Form of Communication
At a session given by Tony Harrison (Oklahoma City PD) on suicide intervention, attendees learned that about 30,000 persons die by their own hand each year--more than homicides. Talking about suicide does not cause suicidal actions, he told the group, the risk increases with age, and males are three to four times more likely than females to commit suicide, but females are three to four times more likely to attempt suicide.
Suicide is a transient state, Harrison said, and is a form of communications. People expressing suicidal thoughts feel hopeless, helpless and hapless. They see more of the negative aspects of their life than positive, and may cut off ties with family and friends.
To assess a caller, evaluate the method, time, detail, availability of means, chance of intervention and any previous attempts. Harrison presented a worksheet for evaluating the risk based on all these factors. He also described the risk factors for responding personnel, including any weapons, the actions of the person, and the possibility of "suicide by cop."
Harrison said "Do" listen, regulate your voice, be non-judgmental and offer help. "Don't" dare them, give them advice, act shocked, or be sworn to secrecy.
Harrison offers this material with vastly more explanation, and in more detail as a training class. Contact him at (405) 359-8448.
Tomorrow:
- Educational sessions from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Closing reception, 6:30 p.m.
- Closing banquet, 7:30 p.m.
copyright 1999, Allen Media