Glitzy Opening Kicks Off Annual Conference
Bunnell and Tristani Tell Funny Stories & Info--Respectively
Staffing Task Force Report Falls Flat

by Gary Allen

Day One of the 66th annual conference of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) brought few surprises, but the promise of more challenges in the coming year from wireless 911, PBXs, number portability and staffing.

Unlike some past years, there were no major positive announcement from the Federal Communications Commission prior the conference, although the commission did issue its fourth (!) Report & Order on the allocation of 24 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band to public safety.

Even the long anticipated Task Force report on the current staffing crisis turned out to be a non-event--the data basically duplicated what everyone in public safety communications already knew, and provided no solutions. On the other hand, the mere formation of a Task Force may have created new opportunities to get to the root of the problem (see below).

Both the 9:30 a.m. general session and the noon opening luncheon were well attended--rumors put the attendance at some 8,000, although that may have included family members and trade show attendees. Even so, the first day crowds certainly appeared larger. Many people crowed around the Salt Lake City (Utah) booth, where they were given pins, stickers and other freebies in anticipation of next year's conference there. Others headed for a nearby cafe to relax with a mocha before the first meeting.

APCO president Joe Hanna opened the meeting by telling attendees there were many things to see and do in Boston. He described the annual event as the "the largest conference, offering the greatest number of seminars, and having the largest exhibition in public safety communications." He asked the attendees to take what they learned back to their agency, and for their continued support of APCO.

Conference chair Michael Mangini then introduced the voice-only of Steve Souder (Virg. Chapter), who gave one of the most stirring renditions we've ever heard of a tribute to dispatchers written by Chief Thomas Wagoner of the Loveland (Colo.) Police Department. [full text]

The presentation of the annual awards to the dispatcher, supervisor, manager and technician of the year were moved up front, to the first order of business at the general session. Interestingly, all four of the honorees are from two western states--Washington and Colorado.

Dispatcher Colleen Eyman (Lakewood, Colo. Police Department) was described as a "dispatcher's dispatcher," working extra hours and handling emergency situations calmly and professionally.

Supervisor Jani Chaney (Clark County, Wash., Regional Communications Agency) was cited for her performance during a lengthy police pursuit across several jurisdictions, and for creating a training program.

Comm center director Debbie Willis (Washington State Patrol) "revived a failing comm center," her nomination stated, and reduced the vacancy rate from 42% to 6% in just one year, and restored the call answering performance.

Technician Richard Rudy (Lakewood, Colo.) joined the agency in 1998 and quickly became the resident expert on on its radio systems. He assisted the police department during their operations at the Columbine High School shootings, and made short work of MDT and console installation projects. [group photo] [APCO's photos]

Former Multnomah County (Ore.) sheriff John Bunnell was introduced next, and sheepishly admitted that a VCR ate the videotape that he brought to show the attendees--so he'd have to talk 15 minutes more than he expected. But he was amusing, interesting and rather inspirational while telling how he changed careers from politics (the RFK campaign) to law enforcement, how he learned his patrol techniques despite a gruff trainer, and how he now hosts Fox-TV shows and visits police departments around the country.

Bunnell recounted his early career, which included a gruff--if not downright antagonistic--sheriff's deputy dispatcher, who apparently didn't like new deputies with a college education (he still remembers his name). Bunnell said he feared asking questions on the radio for fear of a rude rebuke from this dispatcher, and he always had to look up information himself. He opined that he probably would have been much more effective if the dispatcher had been helpful.

"To some degree, I believe, it disallowed me to do my job, maybe, in the most complete manner or as professionally as I could of, or as timely as I could of," Bunnell told the attendees. "In my case, (the dispatcher) always had something sarcastic to say."

Bunnell remarked how dispatching has changed over the years, and has grown much more professional. Speaking of the Portland dispatchers where he worked, "I would put my life in their hands willingly. I had total confidence in them." He described dispatchers as "the most camouflaged" group in the public safety community, and that few members of the public know what they really do.

Bunnell said he always visits the comm centers of the police and sheriff's agencies he visits--if only because that's where the food is, he joked. He noted that he does many of his "standups" for his TV show within comm centers, and tries to get as many dispatchers as possible into camera range.

He said he was surprised to learn how large an organization APCO is, and of all the networking that goes on. "You should be very proud of yourselves," he said, having members from all around the world meeting to exchange information and ideas on public safety communications. "It makes your job that much easier, and it makes you that much better," he said.

Bunnell said he recently recorded audio for an interactive computer game, playing the "good guy." Across the studio from him was the "bad guy"--sometimes police-critical rapper Iced T. Bunnell said over three days he grew to like the rapper, who even offered to donate his recording pay to Bunnell's favorite law enforcement charity--Bunnell accepted.

He's just started production on yet another season of "America's Strangest-Weirdest Police Chases-Videos-Etc." Interestingly, he said he'd like to meet dispatchers during his stay here--indicating that he intended to be present during the entire conference, and not just for his speech.

Luncheon Meeting

At the flag draped opening luncheon, two bagpipers played for the presentation of colors, and the national anthem followed.

On a solemn note, the attendees paused for a moment of silence in memory of Joanne Perkins, who died here in Boston on the first day of the 1990 conference after she was struck by a delivery truck while crossing the street. The Iowa Chapter of APCO announced that it has pledged $2,500 to the scholarship fund created in her memory back then, and challenged other chapters to match that money.

APCO president Joe Hanna told the attendees that the group's new headquarters building is on schedule, and should be completed by this September. He announced that Motorola had become the first platinum-level sponsor in the association's Brick Drive program, which will be used to outfit the headquarters building. [press release] Brochures and applications for the program were displayed in the registration area, along with a sample brick.

Hanna then introduced a representative from Jacksonville State University (Geo.), in connection with the association's recently announced Virtual Campus educational program. Hanna presented the university official a plaque honoring their cooperation--and the official presented Hanna a plaque of his own for APCO's work on creating the program.

Second Speaking Tour

Hanna then introduced keynote speaker FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani, who has become an acquaintance of APCO since her appearance at the 1998 conference in Albuquerque--her home state.

She had no news to relay from the FCC, and very little encouragement. She did run down the current FCC activities and provide some insights, but for a crowd desperate for help and solutions, that wasn't much.

She told the attendees that, "The safety of life and property often clings to a thin thread--the thread of a consistent, accurate and reliable communications system." She described some of the current public safety issues as interoperability, sufficient spectrum, interference-free communications, and resources for state-of-the-art technology.

And she said the FCC has made "steady progress" during the past year to help public safety do its job "more productively and more safely." She added, "With APCO's help, the agency has moved forward on a number of fronts to ensure that public safety is ready for the communications challenges and opportunities of this new century."

On the issue of the 24 MHz allocation, Tristani said she believes that a regional planning approach is "vital to ensure that public safety agencies at all levels have a voice in the administration of this spectrum." She told the APCO members, "I encourage (you) to seize this opportunity despite the substantial effort that will be required."

She mentioned that the FCC initially set channel standards at 6.25 KHz, "with the expectation that the technology necessary to accommodate one voice channel in 6.25 kHz bandwidth would soon be developed. However, the NCC responded in February that a 6.25 kHz digital voice standard was perhaps five years away." But she believes that, "saving lives today is a higher priority," and so agrees with the National Coordination Committee's (NCC) recommendation to adopt 12.5 KHz channels, with a migration path to future 6.25 KHz channels.

As for availability, she noted that cities such as Chicago, Washington, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, New Orleans, San Diego, and Nashville have clear channels in the 700 MHz band. "However, in other areas, including many areas where public safety spectrum is most needed, TV stations will only clear off during the transition from analog digital television in 2006 or beyond," Tristani said.

She said the 700 MHz blockage by UHF-TV station "is a matter of intense scrutiny in Washington." She supports spectrum clearing plans the FCC adopted last year for the commercial UHF-TV band, and that would benefit public safety as well. However, the current law does not allow for mandatory band clearing, and there could be delays, she said. Nevertheless, she said, "Despite this cloud looming over use of this spectrum in some areas, the 700 MHz band offers exciting possibilities for many public safety agencies across America."

Tristani said the FCC needs to "facilitate interoperability below 512 MHz," where the vast majority of state and local law enforcement and fire agencies operate. "I believe that we should act quickly to identify certain channels below 512 MHz for nationwide interoperability," she said.

911 Issues

On the issue of wireless 911, Tristani noted that, "Wireless 911 has become an integral means to alert public safety agencies of an emergency," and that some 43 million wireless 911 calls were made in 1999. She said when the wireless 911 rules were originally adopted by the FCC in 1996, "The common understanding was that only network-based approaches would provide the location information." But since then, GPS technology has developed to allow a handset-based alternative.

Despite the firm deadlines and technical details provided by the FCC, Tristani said, "Over the past several months, some carriers and manufacturers have asserted that the technology isn't ready. They've attacked our aggressive timeframe and at times even each other."

She told the group, "It's time for this cycle of blame to come to an end. Survey upon survey reflects that safety is a top reason why people sign up for wireless service. Moreover, our mandate to promote public safety demands aggressive deployment."

Tristani said that while some carriers already have filed for waivers, "We need tangible solutions--not lax deployment." The FCC is reviewing the wireless 911 deadlines right now. "And while there may be some valid reasons to make minor changes," the commissioner said, "we must retain a meaningful commitment to E911. Come October, carriers will be required to declare the technology they'll use. And next year deployment will begin."

She waved a finger briefly at PSAPs, saying that the promise of wireless 911, "will remain only a promise unless we succeed in making wireless E911 an integrated part of public safety programs. After all, location technology will be useless if PSAPs aren't set up to handle the information. Some E911 obligations, moreover, aren't even triggered until a PSAP requests carrier deployment."

800 MHz Interference

Lastly, Tristani noted the work by APCO and other groups and companies on the issues of 800 MHz interference. The FCC convened a series of meetings attended by APCO, 800 MHz carriers and an equipment manufacturer--the Public Safety Interference Task Force. She noted that APCO has posted a questionnaire on its website and work has proceeded to find solutions to this problem. "This effort has been productive thus far and I encourage APCO members to get involved in this project," she said.

She concluded her speech by saying, "You are the voice of public safety and I thank you for all your efforts."

At the conclusion of her talk, Hanna presented her a plaque for the work she's done on behalf of public safety. [transcript of speech]

Staffing Task Force Results

Perhaps 300 persons packed into room 311 of the convention center at 4:15 p.m. to hear the report of APCO's staffing Task Force, chaired by Steve Souder. But perhaps many were disappointed that the Task Force didn't come up with a solution to the nation-wide shortage of dispatcher applicants, and the burn-out rate of veteran dispatchers.

Not that there is a solution, or that one could be devised by a single group within a few months. But the need is so urgent that expectations have been running high ever since the Task Force was formed.

The Task Force members include Souder, Barry Furey, Jack Keating, Julie Righter and Karen Sturgeon. They essentially issued a staffing survey and then processed and analyzed the 470 responses they received. [survey form] Of those who responded, 44% were calltakers/dispatchers, 34% were directors or administrators, 18% supervisors and 4% dispatchers-only.

The first question asked was about salary--but the responses were inconclusive. The respondents overwhelmingly (70%) said the entry-level dispatcher salary is inadequate, but none had an answer to the next question--what is an appropriate salary? That is, literally, none. Not a single person filled in an answer to this question, Souder said.

Souder and Jack Keating both said this area needed much more study, most likely by a professional survey group who can gather more comprehensive information, and turn it into meaningful results which can be presented to government administrators who have the means to make changes--whatever those might be.

Next, the survey asked about authorized staffing. Understandably, the largest group (33%) reported from 1-10 dispatchers, then 11-20 (20%), then 21-30 (20%) and 31-50 (7%).

The next question asked about vacancies: 75% reported from 1-5 vacancies, 14% had 6-10, 5% had 11-15 and 4% had 16-20.

Unfortunately, as one audience member pointed out, the results of these two questions provided no insight into the current state of comm center staffing, since the agencies weren't asked to provide their current vacancy rate of authorized positions--that figure would have given a much clearer snapshot of current staffing levels.

Indeed, had the committee incorporated a "vacancy rate" question into their questionaire, it would have provided a much-needed headline---and a screaming headline---that every comm center manager, politician, APCO and NENA could use to make the point that the nation's comm centers are severely understaffed. Without this figure, everyone now must wait until further surveys are performed---whenever that is.

Next, the survey asked about turnover rates for 1999, and the first six months of 2000. Most agencies (29%) reported losing 1-10% of their dispatchers, while 17% reported losing 11-20%, another 17% lost 21-30%, and 10% lost 31-40% in 1999.

For the period of January to June 2000, most agencies (31%) reported losing 0-10%, while 20% lost 21-30%, and 14% lost 11-20% of their dispatchers.

According to Souder, an analysis of the two results shows that the overall turnover rate has increased three percentage points from 1999 to 2000.

The survey gathered local unemployment rates, but there was no analysis provided on the correlation between those rates (from 0% to over 10%) and the reporting agencies staffing shortage or turnover.

The respondents overwhelmingly said that their entry level process did not produce adequate dispatcher candidates--60% said "No" and 36% said "Yes."

Lastly, the report presented two tables that analyzed why dispatchers leave the profession, and why candidates are not attracted to the profession. A quick analysis showed that working conditions scored highest on both questions, followed roughly by inadequate salary and stress-pressure of the job. Understandably, inadequate benefits (which are usually relatively good at government agencies) scored the lowest as reasons for leaving or not pursuing a dispatching job.

Souder said that he had received one telephone call directly from a company executive he didn't name (but probably based in southern California), who said he had just read a newspaper article on the dispatcher staffing shortage. The exec offered his company's resources--including money--to help APCO in any way. Souder said that he had other less specific pledges of support in financing a more complete and mathematical survey and analysis.

The Task Force will perform some additional analysis on the data it collected, particularly the salary information. They intend to request Project status for their work from APCO executive board, which may lead to a contract survey and--we hope--more definitive data that can be shouted around, and some solutions.

[survey graphs & tables]

Consolidated Center

Across the Charles River lies Cambridge, the home of some 100,000 regular residents, which swells to almost 500,000 during weekdays when both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are in session.

The fire department has one of the best and most experienced HAZMAT units on the east coast, we were told, because MIT always has something "brewing." CFD handles about 12,000 incidents a year with eight engines, two ladders, two rescues and two on-duty chiefs, operating from six firehouses.

On the police side, there are from 15 to 40 units on-duty at any time, depending upon the day of the week and time of day. The police department has just installed Cerulean's Packet Cluster mobile data gear, which transmits inquiries, databases responses and messages back and forth using CDPD.

The fire and police comm centers were separate prior to July 1996--the fire center was staffed by civilian Signal Operators who reported to the city's electrical division, and the police center was staffed by sworn officers. The two were combined at the city's fire headquarters, in an 6,000 square-foot older section of the building that was gutted and completely renovated, while retaining its original outside appearance.

Previously, the center had a different appearance, based on the city's huge street fire alarm box system. But despite the changes, the city still has a fire alarm system that supports both street boxes and private alarms that sound through the municipal fire alarm system.

The current center is on the second floor of the building, with plenty of open windows that feature metal fire shutters--if needed.

The center has four distinct areas--two for police and two for fire operations. The primary fire position has access to the fire alarm panel, phones and radio. The secondary fire position has radio and phone access.[long shot] [close shot]

Beyond this console are the two police bays, which have space for three dispatchers--a primary radio dispatcher and a computer operation (vehicle reg, NCIC, etc.). [view 1] [view 2]

The center also has a break room, lockers, conference, administrative office and supervisor's office.

Other material: Check Linda Olmstead's photo collection of the event.

Tomorrow: Early business session, then opening of the trade show.