Issue Archive: November 2005

Training methods depend on the topics and skills that need to be learned, the personalities of the dispatchers involved, resources available, and creativity. Comparing several common training methods and identifying their advantages and limitations offers helpful hints.

The integration of GIS and RMS has created a gold mine for incident and crime analysis. With the knowledge of where crimes are occurring presented in a graphic format, it is easier to analyze patterns and ultimately solve crimes.

The California Highway Patrol uses a simple system to screen-out 1.5 million misdialed 9-1-1 calls per year from wireless phones. This has helped them reduce their call volumes by about 19 percent, enabling them to answer real emergencies faster.

Providing priority installation and restoration of NS/EP telecommunications in times of disaster, this federal program is critical to the efficient management of any emergency or security threat to the U.S.

In today's communication services markets, traditional funding mechanisms are no longer expected to be a long-term solution for the existing 9-1-1 system. New funding mechanisms must be crafted that allow 9-1-1 administrators to amass a capital reserve for deployment of a new IP-based 9-1-1 infrastructure.

As E9-1-1 GIS systems are brought online, there has been a challenge in keeping the traditional MSAG and their GIS data sets individually current and synchronized with one another. To solve this dilemma, E9-1-1 agencies must look to a next generation MSAG/GIS data model.

A VoIP public education campaign should create educated consumers who are fully informed about the emergency calling features of their Internet phone service.