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The Revolution in Emergency Communications CRITICAL ISSUES IN POLICING SERIES The Revolution in Emergency Communications CRITICAL ISSUES IN POLICING SERIES The Revolution in Emergency Communications November 2017 This publication was supported by the Motorola Solutions Foundation. The points of view expressed herein are the authors’ and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Motorola Solutions Foundation or all Police Executive Research Forum members. Police Executive Research Forum, Washington, D.C. 20036 Copyright © 2017 by Police Executive Research Forum All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-934485-40-8 Graphic design by Dave Williams. Cover photos courtesy of First Responder Network Authority. Text page photos by Matt Harman. Contents Acknowledgments .....................................................................................................1 Executive Summary: 18 Facts that Public Safety Leaders Must Understand about the Emergency Communications Revolution of Today ................................................................... 4 Introduction: The Transformation of Emergency Communications Is Here ......................................................... 13 Technology Is Outpacing Policy ............................................................................14 Key Issues That Jurisdictions Need To Address ....................................................15 Understanding Next Generation 911 and FirstNet ................. 16 An Outdated System That Is Not Keeping Up with the Times .............................16 Sending Digital Data to 911: Not a Matter of “If,” But “When” ..........................18 Next Generation 911 Basics ..................................................................................18 • How Vermont’s NG911 Infrastructure Helped the State to Weather Tropical Storm Irene ..................................................................... 21 • Text-to-911: A First Step in NG911 Deployment ................................................... 22 • Critical Issue: Improving the Response to Persons in Crisis ................................ 23 FirstNet Basics .......................................................................................................25 Key Features of FirstNet ........................................................................................26 • FirstNet History, Mission and Organization ........................................................... 27 Will FirstNet Make Land Mobile Radios Obsolete? .............................................28 Current Status of FirstNet .....................................................................................28 • How Colorado Officials Used a FirstNet-like System to Help Manage a Major Ski Championship ........................................................... 29 • What a 911 “Call” and Emergency Dispatch of the Future May Look Like ............................................................................................................ 30 The Convergence of NG911 and FirstNet .............................................................32 What’s Next: Five Issues that Public Safety Agencies Must Address to Harness the Potential of NG911 and FirstNet ....... 34 1. Technology Issues ...............................................................................................34 • Critical Issue: How Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Can Improve Emergency Communications ........................................................... 40 • Critical Issue: Harnessing the Power of Public Safety Apps ................................. 41 2. Policy and Workflow Issues ...............................................................................43 • Critical Issue: CALEA Accreditation Helps Ensure Emergency Communications Centers Are Up to Standards ................................ 50 3. Training and Other Workforce Issues ...............................................................52 4. Governance Issues .............................................................................................58 • The DHS SAFECOM Advisory Group Is Helping to Drive Interoperability and Cooperation ............................................................. 60 • PSAP Governance Models ........................................................................................ 62 • Examples of PSAP Consolidation ............................................................................ 66 5. Funding Issues ...................................................................................................66 • Traditional Ways of Funding 911 Are Not Keeping Pace with Technology ......................................................................................................... 68 • U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar: To Accelerate the Transition to NG911, We Need to Ensure State and Local Governments Have Resources .................... 68 A Call to Action: Public Safety Needs to Prepare For and Lead the Revolution in Emergency Communications ............ 72 About PERF ..............................................................................................................74 About Motorola Solutions and the Motorola Solutions Foundation ..............................................................76 Appendix A: Resources for Additional Information ..........................................77 Appendix B: Glossary of Common Acronyms and Terms ................................80 Appendix C: Participants at the Critical Issues Meeting: The Future of Emergency Communications ........................................................84 Acknowledgments The field of emergency communications is about to enter a period of dramatic change and transformation. Nearly 50 years after the first 911 call was made in the United States, call- taking and dispatching have become, in a way, the forgotten member of the public safety family. The 911 system is so familiar to us that most people don’t even think about it, until an emergency happens. Yet 911 remains a vital part of everyday crime-fighting, as well as the management of major events and the response to natural disasters. PERF decided to conduct a Critical Issues in Policing project on emergency communications because the world of emergency communications is about to undergo an upheaval, as a result of two new technologies: Next Generation 911 systems and the FirstNet wireless broadband network for police and other first responders. The implementation of NG911 and FirstNet will augment tradi- tional mission-critical Land Mobile Radio (LMR) narrowband voice systems. This report explores NG911 and FirstNet and their impact on police agencies and the emergency communications centers that support the police. Once again, this type of timely, topical research is made possible by the support of the Motorola Solutions Foundation. Since 1998, Motorola has supported more than 30 Critical Issues in Policing projects, allowing PERF to examine important issues in policing as soon as they emerge and are identi- fied. The policing profession has benefited greatly from the Motorola Solution Foundation’s forward-thinking generosity. Special thanks to Greg Brown, Motorola Solutions Chairman and CEO; Jack Molloy, Senior Vice President for Sales, North America; Jim Mears, Senior Vice President; Gino Bonanotte, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Cathy Seidel, Corporate Vice President, Government Relations; Matt Blakely, Director of the Motorola Solutions Foundation; and Rick Neal, retired Vice President at Motorola Solutions and now President of the Government Strategies Advisory Group, who continues to assist us with these projects. We are also grateful to three Motorola leaders who participated in our June 16, 2017 meeting on The Future of Emergency Communications: Barry Lamberg- man, Senior Director of North America Government Affairs; Tracy Kimbo, Director of Government Marketing; and Dan Sawicki, Director of Project Management. Acknowledgments — 1 I also want to thank all of the people who participated in our meeting and shared their experiences and insights. We are especially grateful to the lead- ership of the National 911 Program, the First Responder Network Author- ity (FirstNet), and the industry organizations who attended our meeting and devoted considerable time in advance of the meeting, helping our researchers to understand the complex issues detailed in this report. These individuals and organizations are listed in Appendix C on page 84. I want to single out two people who have played a central role in advancing and modernizing the emergency communications profession. First is Harlin McEwen, retired chief of the Ithaca (NY) Police Department and immediate past chair of the FirstNet Public Safety Advisory Committee. Over the years, Harlin has taught many of us everything we know about radio spectrum, the D Block, interoperability, the importance of broadband and, most recently, FirstNet. Throughout his career, and again at our meeting this year, Harlin reminded us of the real purpose behind all of this new technology: to help the cop on the beat be safer and more effective. Second, I’m grateful to Steve Souder, who recently completed a remarkable 48-year career in emergency communications, including heading up emer- gency communications in Fairfax County and Arlington County in Virginia, and Montgomery County, Maryland. Steve was generous with his time and was invaluable in providing PERF’s researchers with his unique insights and perspectives on NG911 and FirstNet
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