Back in the Day – A Funny Journey through years-gone-by in the PSAP
How you respond to the stories of back in the day, will be reflected in your perspective of this article. Back in the day stories can be funny or boring, but regardless of how they are perceived, they are part of our history and molded us into who...
Picky, Persnickety, or Pampered
If you have ever been around a picky eater, or are one yourself, you are aware of how exasperating it can be for the cook. The food doesn’t taste right, the texture is wrong, it’s too hot, it’s too cold, and it looks bad if you know a picky eater,...
Artificial Intelligence – Is AI the solution?
Artificial Intelligence, AI, as it’s commonly referred to, is seeping into every fiber of our daily lives but can it answer a 9-1-1 call? Experts believe it can, and that in the nearby future, AI will change policing completely. As technology...
Managing conflict in the PSAP
What can I say other than it happens to everyone at some point in their career? And some people deal with this more than others. “She’s always taking time off” “He never works overtime” “She takes all the overtime” “He ate my yogurt” “John left dirty...
Public Safety Training
With the controversy about law enforcement training still ripping through the US in the aftermath of excessive force allegations and the related outcomes of those cases, I jumped at the opportunity to sit in on a police academy and experience,...
Is liability really something to be concerned about in a PSAP?
There is a widespread belief that public safety telecommunicators (PSAPs) are immune from liability in the event of an emergency. This is not the case. What is a 9-1-1 Emergency Telecommunicator? They are the people that answer your call when you dial 9-1-1. Depending...
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children / NCMEC
In my career, I have had thousands of hours of additional training (not an exaggeration!). I don’t remember every class, but NCMEC does not fall into that lost memory category. In 2007 one of my employees told me about a CEO Conference/class at...
Challenges Facing 911
Beyond the regular staffing shortage of applicants, challenges facing 911 today revolve around technology. Specifically speaking for this article, what happens during power outages and network outages? Many PSAPs today have contingency plans in place for when 911 goes...
Are You Really Listening?
Listening is one of the most important skills in communication. It's the key to understanding what the other person is saying and getting their point of view. But listening can be difficult. We often go off on our own thoughts, and we may not really pay attention to...