Videos

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.

Avalanche Rescue Exercise

Jackson Hole Avalanche Search and Rescue Team and its K-9 rescue dogs perform a "live" rescue to demonstrate avalanche rescue operations in action. Explore.org’s founder, Charlie Annenberg Weingarten gets buried alive as part of a rescue trial for the first responders and their highly trained k-9s. Courtesy explore.org

Cell Phone Sally & Friends

PowerPhone EMD: Don't wing it!