Videos

Univ of Maryland Eastern Shore Video Shows Full Test of Emergency Response

e2Campus has released the latest video episode of "America's Safe Campuses" featuring University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). In the video, UMES shows how to conduct a full-scale exercise to help the school better prepare for an actual emergency and comply with recent updates to the Clery Act. UMES recommends a "crawl, walk, run" approach to testing the university's emergency response plans, with the full-scale exercise representing the "run" phase.  

The in-depth video examines the benefits and considerations when conducting a full-scale exercise of an emergency on campus.

Click on video image to watch it on the  e2campus web site -->

"This video depicts an example of a carefully planned Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) Exercise conducted on a college campus," explained Kenneth A. Collins, Interim Chief of Police at University of Maryland Eastern Shore. "It was a classic exercise utilizing the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) protocol as mandated by Maryland State Government and Federal Government as well."

"The exercise was an eye opening experience for all agencies involved. While the introduction to the concept (crawl phase) and Table Top Exercise (walk phase) is important, it is the hands-on experience (run phase) that is key in preparing for a real life emergency – learning and using a multi-agency approach to accomplish the objective. It's about testing the actual response capability for both on-campus assets and local supporting first responders directed toward minimizing the effects of an emergency situation. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Department of Public Safety is proud and honored to have worked with e2Campus to make the video a complete success."

S. Daniel Carter, the Director of 32 National Campus Safety Initiative, said, "This video clearly explains both the importance of and how to conduct a full scale exercise. They have managed to take something many institutions find intimidating and make it seem both essential and feasible."

  The film opens on March 15.

Berry plays a veteran LAPD 9-1-1 dispatcher named Jordon.  When she takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl's life.

Click the image at right to watch the trailer on IMDB

For more details, see our news story here

Read the Editor's review of THE CALL here

Produced by Modern City Entertainment, HEROES BEHIND THE BADGE features stories of some of the brave men and women of law enforcement who have put their lives on the line and survived, as well as those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Filmed throughout the U.S., this documentary highlights the lives of four fallen officers and the enormous impact their passing has had on their family members, colleagues, and community. The film also features the stories of three officers who narrowly escaped their assailants.  

These living legends share their personal insights about how their near-fatal encounters have affected their lives. This inspiring film will change the way we look at the men and women of law enforcement and highlight the unselfish acts of bravery they carry out each day in the line of duty.

Orders began shipping in late October.  Click here to order either DVD or Blu-Ray

50% of the net proceeds from the film will benefit the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

See our earlier story on making the documentary at http://www.9-1-1magazine.com/PPT-Heroes-Behind-The-Badge

This eloquently powerful PSA was developed with the San Ramon Valley Fire District in California, about a new iPhone App alerting CPR trained members of the community.  Using Hollywood styledfilming techniques, no dialog and an absorbing musical score, the PSA poignantly demonstrates how CPR-trained citizens in the vicinity of a cardiac emergency can be notified of the need for CPR via their iPhone and can render aid while emergency responders are on the way. 

The app, developed by PulsePoint, enables members of the public to provide life-saving assistance to victims of sudden cardiac arrest, which causes nearly 1,000 deaths a day in the United States.  App users, who have indicated they are trained in CPR, can be notified if someone nearby is having a cardiac emergency and may require CPR.  The app uses sophisticated location-based services to alert citizens in a public place of the need for CPR.  The application also directs citizen rescuers to the exact location of the nearest publicly available automated external defibrillator (AED).

A number of agencies have adopted the app, which is available for download from the iPhone app store.  The San Jose Fire Department in California is the largest agency thus far to launch the app.  (see our earlier report about the iPhone app as used in San Jose, here )

Watch San Ramon's PSA on youtube here

Video: NIU psychology study links 9-1-1 dispatchers with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms

Homicides, suicides, domestic violence, car crashes. For most people, it’s the stuff of nightmares. For busy 9-1-1 emergency dispatchers, it’s all in a day’s work.

Now a new study by researchers at Northern Illinois University suggests that the on-the-job, indirect exposure to trauma puts dispatchers at risk for developing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  “We found that dispatchers report significant emotional distress related to handling duty-related calls, and this type of distress is associated with increased risk for developing PTSD or PTSD  symptoms,” said NIU Psychology Professor Michelle Lilly, one of the authors of the study published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress.

See also our news report on this study here.

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Video Series: Visiting the Memorial for the First Time

Robert Blan had a boyhood dream of becoming a police officer. That dream came true at the age of 21, when he became an Oakland (CA) Police Officer.

On May 23, 1973, Officer Blan was shot and killed during a traffic stop. He was 24 years old and left behind a wife and two young children.

His name was proudly inscribed on the marble walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial when it was first dedicated in 1991 and was solemnly read with the original 12,560 names of fallen law enforcement heroes.

Unfortunately, his wife and children were not there to hear it. His daughter, Michelle, visited the Memorial for the first time in 2010 and had a life changing experience. She made it her goal to bring her mother with her to the Memorial in 2011.

And that goal was accomplished. Not only did Nancy and Michelle Blan attend National Police Week last year — they graciously decided to share their inspiring experience with others, in hopes that they would find solace and comfort knowing they are not alone and that their loved ones will always be honored and never forgotten.

- Via National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Click on image: Nancy & Michelle Blan share their personal experiences at National Police Week 2011.

BearCom Produces Animated Video to Remind Radio Users about FCC Narrowbanding Mandate

BearCom, a nationwide provider of wireless communications equipment and solutions, today made available a fun, animated video meant to remind users of two-way radios about serious changes coming from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Public agencies and companies that use two-way radios are required to modify their FCC licenses and, when appropriate, reprogram or replace existing equipment to meet the narrowbanding requirements set forth by the FCC. BearCom has been a leader in educating the public about the narrowbanding mandate, which aims to increase capacity and efficiency for the industrial/business and public safety radio pools.

The video, which can be viewed at on youtube, was produced in partnership with Motorola Solutions. It stars Wireless Woman, a cartoon superhero used in several ways by BearCom to help make messages more memorable. She’s featured in two other company videos, has thousands of followers on Twitter, and is the listed author of the company’s blog, the BearCom Bulletin.

“Wireless Woman is quite a character,” said BearCom President & CEO Jerry Denham. “But behind the playful approach is important information that users of two-way radios need. And these days, there’s no more important issue in two-way radio communications than narrowbanding.”

Under the FCC mandate, radios must have 12.5 kHz narrowband technology. Many newer radios can be converted, but some older ones must be replaced. The deadline for compliance is January 1, 2013, and violators face the prospect of heavy fines and the possibility of losing their FCC licenses.

BearCom, Motorola Solutions, and the Enterprise Wireless Alliance (EWA) worked together to launch www.Narrowbanding.com earlier this year to serve as another important resource to help educate the public about the narrowbanding requirement. Last month, BearCom also released its 2012 Two-Way Radio Narrowbanding Guide, which is available free for downloading at www.BearCom.com/Resource-Library.

“All of these resources are helpful as users of two-way radios look to comply with the FCC narrowbanding mandate,” Denham said. “With this latest video, we hope that humor can help keep this important issue on people’s minds as the deadline for compliance quickly approaches.”

For more information, visit www.BearCom.com.

Cody Systems C.O.B.R.A.: Officer Safety First Information Sharing

Criminals move fast. Data moves faster. Watch this video to see how the real-time, critical information provided by CODY Systems' C.O.B.R.A. can keep officers and other law enforcement field agents safe while they protect and serve.

Newtown Borough Police Chief Anthony Wojciechowski recalls the events of the tragic night when one of his officers, Brian Gregg, was brutally murdered by a known-offender in Bucks County, PA. He also recounts CODY Systems' eventual donation of their tactical, cloud-ready, information-sharing platform, C.O.B.R.A., to the county to help ensure tragedies such as this never happen again.

C.O.B.R.A. is CODY Systems' innovative cloud-ready information-sharing platform which integrates, shares, and provides true real-time information on persons, locations, vehicles, etc. across jurisdictions to officers on the street, investigators and upstream destinations -- regardless of the RMS vendor that participating agencies use.

Watch the Video on youtube.

Future Shock: NG9-1-1

Two time NENA president Bill Munn examines where technology and 9-1-1 clash in this wide ranging look at next gen calls for assistance. Dr. Munn discusses technology, financial and operational impacts as well as how NG911 will affect citizens.

Alachua County Shares Quality Assurance and Recording Best Practices

Roy Carlisle, QA analyst and 9-1-1operator at Alachua Country Combined Communications, shares best practices for communications recording and quality assurance in this video. Watch the video to learn about: 

• Alachua County's "10 Commandments of Call Taking" guide.
• How to reduce staff turnover using objective Quality Assurance and frequent performance reporting. 
• QA form development and scoring best practices.
• What you really need in recording and incident recreation technology.
• How to prepare for upcoming Quality Assurance standards.

Video provided by VPI.

PowerPhone EMD: Don't wing it!