by The Sage
My anger is directed at the national dispatching associations for not doing one thing to squelch all of the PR that Baltimore has been feeding the media that 311 solved all of their crime problems! Who is going to take these people on and expose their statistics? They're claiming that crime decreased by 11% in 1996, and is down 15% so far this year, all thanks to 311?! Will someone point out that it was Baltimore's policy of having only 911 to reach the police, of taking every type of call on 911, and of responding to everything that has changed? They could've made all those changes without 311 and had the same results. And please, don't write me with that lame "It's not for everyone, but it works here," stuff. That's just a cover-up for free labor, free phones and free federal money.
Dear Sage,
Do you have a scanner to listen to public safety frequencies?
Hamming
Dear H.,
No I don't--when work's over, it's over. On the other hand, I've know scannerheads
have heard a male voice counting numbers on Kansas City's (Mo.) 800 MHz
trunked radio system, apparently trying to work out the bugs.
I've also heard that WCPX-TV in Orlando ditched plans to buy expensive
Motorola MCS2000 mobile transceivers in favor of Uniden's TrunkTracker scanner.
Ouch! Not only do these radios receive complex trunked radio transmissions,
they take away revenue!
Sage
Next?: My little wireless buddies in Southern California say wireless giant Nextel is trying to court the local police chiefs and sheriffs, hoping to bring them on-board its for-profit, private, better-than-cellular system. Well, the FCC did say that public safety should take more advantage of the private sector for communications. But what's the upside for Nextel? Frequencies, of course! They apparently have an eye on those 800 MHz frequencies already allocated to public safety.
Dear Sage,
Who is Reverend 911?
Spiritually Inclined
Dear Mr./Ms. S.,
That's easy. It's the Rev. Al Sharpton, who is a long-shot to run against
New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani, if he can get past some party politics.
He received 32% of the votes in a primary, but that's a long way from unseating
the popular mayor. Oh, why the nickname? In the mid-1980s he promoted himself
as a spokesman for the African-American community in NYC and gained a reputation
of answering any call for help.
Sage
Shhhh!: Well, they call it the Secret Service, but I'm not out of line to tell you the agency has apparently allowed Public Safety Associates, Inc. to blab to everyone that they've sold the feds a "Logistics Command and Control Program." The software will be used on large-scale events where Secret Service protection is necessary, like the Demo and Repub conventions, trips to foreign countries and when the President heads off on three weeks vacation.
Dear Sage,
We didn't hear anything about your 4th of July celebration. What happened?
Redstone
Dear R.,
Apparently you lit up some Roman candles yourself, eh? As for me, I worked
that evening and enjoyed the view out our one window to see the city's
fireworks. Out on patrol, officers confiscated illegal fireworks and called
for a pick-up team to come retrieve them. Kicker: we got to pick
who the officers for the pick-up detail! One false move and--kaboom!--we
ignite'm!
Sage
Real Funny: I didn't notice until the third time I read "911 Magazine," but check out page 35 of the May/June issue. To illustrate an article on 311, they produced a rather sarcastic (and realistic) cover of their own magazine, as if it were devoted to 311 instead of 911. One headline read, "A PSAP In Your Den, Become a Dispatch Telecommuter." Another asked, "311 Overcrowding, Can We Break It Down Further?" It then listed some possible solutions: (800) SHOPLIFT, (800) PARKERS, (800). Hey, I'll handle the jokes!
Dear Sage,
Our agency can't afford ergonomic chairs and consoles. What's a simple solution?
Bent
Dear Bent,
You can't afford not to purchase something that will prevent the
long-term type of injuries that non-ergo set-ups will cause. And remember,
even an excellent chair won't help if you roll it up to an non-adjustable
console. You have to find a dual solution. There are plenty of workstation,
office cubicle-type solutions these days, supplied by enlightened vendors.
As for chairs, call (800) 537-5573 and ask for Cindy, and she'll ship you
a Corel Seating (Ohio) chair as a demo. If you don't like it, they'll pay
the return shipping charges. But if you think it's great (and you will),
just send them about $500, and then go tell your Motorola rep you saved
one-half off the price of the same chairs they sell as part of their Centracom
II accessory group. Hey between this company and Uniden, Motorola's gonna
take a financial hit.