INDUSTRY NEWS
SIDEBAR:
Media Relations Via
Pager in Reno
New Coin to Honor Fallen Law Enforcement Officers
A new commemmorative coin to honor police officers who have died in the line of duty has been issued by the U.S. Mint in cooperation with the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. The silver dollar, which was authorized last year by Congress and President Clinton, will "recognize the sacrifice of law enforcement officers and their families in preserving public safety."
The obverse side of the coin ("heads") will feature an engraving of two police officers touching the wall of remembrance at the Memorial. The reverse side ("tails") will be emblazoned with the Memorial's emblem, a law enforcement shield with a rose draped across in honor of the more than 14,000 officers who have been killed in the line of duty. Under the shield and rose is the inscription, "To Serve and Protect," law enforcement's guiding principal.
"These coins will provide a timeless reminder of the extraordinary service and sacrifice given each day by our nation's law enforcement officers," said Craig W. Floyd, Memorial Chairman.
The 500,000 commemorative silver dollars will be issued for a one-year period beginning in December. Both an uncirculated version ($32) and a proof version ($37) can be ordered by calling 1-800-USA-MINT. The sale of these coins to the general public is expected to generate as much as $5 million for the long-term maintenance, repair, and security of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. See the NLEOM website at http://www.1nleomf.com.
Cooperative Inter-Government Purchase Nets new CAD/RMS in llinois
In a unique coperative purchase, the Cook County Emergency Telephone Systems Board (ETSB), in cooperation with Illinois State Police, has selected a new integrated Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management System (RMS) from Printrak International, of Anaheim, CA.
"This is a unique partnership that, to our knowledge, has never been attempted before," said Art Jackson, 9-1-1 Board Coordinator. "Everyone will benefit, from the officers who will get more complete information quicker, to the public who will get more timely emergency response."
The agencies will leverage off each other's purchases. Cook County purchased the CAD and RMS systems, while the state is purchasing additional processing power and providing the site for a multiagency communications center. The E9-1-1 Board rounds out this partnership by providing a newly purchased E9-1-1 system.
"Literally, we are building off Cook County's original investment," said Sharon Thornton, senior public service administrator for Illinois State Police. "With state and local entities working together, we are replacing a 25-year-old, home-grown system with the latest technology available. We will now be able to provide dispatching services for villages and cities who otherwise would not have been able to afford this technology."
"Following a comprehensive selection process, Printrak was chosen to implement the system," said Cindy Barbera-Brelle, director of communication for Cook County Sheriff's Department. "It is easy to use and the screens are intuitive, so even though we are transitioning from a completely manual system, we feel our people will be able to quickly and easily grasp this technology and begin to benefit from it immediately."
NFPA-compliant CAD for Hickam Air Base
Geac Public Safety, of Tampa, FL, has completed the installation of the Fire/EMS CAD system at Hickam Air Force Base in Oahu, Hawaii and is moving ahead with plans to provide Hickam with DoD-FIRS (Department of Defense - Fire Incident Reporting System) complaint reporting capabilities. This installation makes Hickam the first US Air Force Base to use NFPA Class 1 compliant CAD software.
Hickam Fire Department provides fire and EMS protection to the citizens and military personnel working and residing on the base. Hickam shares the airfield with Honolulu International Airport, which gives the Fire Department shared responsibility over airport emergencies and activities as well. The additional focus on runways, taxiways and hangers is a shift from the traditional fire dispatch focus on streets, residences and businesses. "Prior to the installation, dispatchers used a manual system and had little or no computer experience," said Geac Support Manager, Phil Davis. "It was amazing to see how quickly they got up to speed. It is exciting to see a Department of Defense Fire Department cross over into the world of Computer-Aided Dispatching and Information Management."
Hickam's Assistant Fire Chief of Operations, John Coughlin, said, "I continue to be impressed with the versatility and adaptability of this product in satisfying the `Real World' requirements of our department. While our dispatchers continue to acclimate to the CAD work environment, they are already discovering new and innovative techniques for managing our dispatch workload. This doesn't come as much of a surprise, due to the evolutionary nature of this transition, but I'm surprised to see it happen so soon after system installation."
For more information on Geac Public Safety, see their web site at: http://www.publicsafety.geac.com.
|
Media Relations via Pager in Reno The Reno, Nevada, Police Department not notifies local media affiliates via alphanumeric paging. The press receives information immediately and in greater detail (as opposed to numeric paging). The system allows Reno's Public Information Officer (PIO) to proactively work with the media and to be available for comments or requests for additional information. Through a group paging system running on PageMart Wireless' nationwide wireless messaging network, Reno PD has successfully incorporated the alphanumeric paging system into their PIO program for the last two years. The system improves communications between law enforcement and the media, generates increased support from the community in criminal investigations utilizing the immediacy of media channels, and provides alternate notification methods to free up dispatchers and the department's lone PIO. "We had some challenges in trying to keep the news media informed of events/crimes in progress without "fighting" with them and the "bag guy" at the crime scene at the same time," said Reno Police Lt. George Maskaly. "We placed mobile keyboards in our supervisor vehicle, enabling our field supervisors to send a alpha page to a pager group called `media.' The local media operations purchased their own pagers and chose to or chose not to participate...it wasn't long before all were participating. We refined the information we sent out to the point where when we have a major traffic accident or another situation, we send a page to the media and they will broadcast the info immediately. This helps us in getting out public information quickly without a lot of phone calls or faxes." The Reno Police Department interviewed various local paging companies as to their service capabilities. They needed to be able to transmit information from remote locations, area coverage was important. Paging was necessary by group as well as by individual, as was worldwide paging when officers were out of town. And, most importantly, was a local contact to fix problems. "If the system goes down or has a glitch, we need to have it fixed ASAP," Maskaly said. "Calling a phone number in another state was unacceptable." Reno ultimately selected Pagemart Wireless to provide the paging service. It wasn't long before the other local agencies, including Nevada Highway Patrol, Carson City Sheriff's Office, Reno Fire Department) started using the system Reno pioneered. The system has also expanded to include casino security within Reno. "Casino security has become a second set of eyes and ears for us when we have a crime take place," said Maskaly. "We send out suspect information and they keep an eye out for us. We have solved a number of crimes like that." "With this program we have been able to improve our information distribution without having to increase staff workload, and we have also improved our working relationship with the media and their portrayal of the police department," said Maskaly. "We have found that the media will draw their own conclusions if not given the facts and that isn't always in the best interest of the police department and our community support." |
