POWERFUL TECHNOLOGY STRONGER RESPONSE
By Michael Fickes
When emergency responders immerse themselves into the scene of a disaster or terrorist incident, they do not stop to check their tool bags to see if they...
MANAGING MULTIPLE SITES
Feb 1, 2005
Innovations are enabling the Montral Police force to change its approach to law enforcement while advancing its own security. With more than 80 department...
Connecting the Dots
By Michael Fickes
When Wayne Comer retired from the FBI, he took his 28 years of experience to an anti-drug program in Philadelphia and stumbled across an idea that may...
Disaster Hospitals
By Michael Fickes
What would happen if casualties from a bio-terror attack overwhelmed the capacity of hospitals in the surrounding area? Conventional disaster plans authorize...
Calling All People
by Michael Fickes
At the behest of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Cook County, Ill., has undertaken a collaborative project with its 128 municipalities. The...
CPTED Keys Oxnard's Downtown Revitalization
by Robert E. Summers
The City of Oxnard, Calif., decided to incorporate the use of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) strategies for its downtown redevelopment...
The Gulf Coast Solution
Dec 1, 2004
A new model for the future of secure, centralized sharing of public safety information across counties, municipalities and among various departments has...
Miami On The Web
By Jacqueline Emigh
When hurricanes Charley, Ivan, Frances and Jeanne hurtled through Florida this fall, citizens in Miami-Dade County turned to more than just their TV sets...
Addition By Subtraction
Dec 1, 2004
Northborough, Mass., is a quiet community spread across 18.69 square miles of rural splendor in Worcester County. It is home to 14,200 residents and,...
Remotely Secured
by Michael Fickes
The City of Pasadena, Calif., is home to nearly 140,000 people and numerous public facilities where 3,000 residents work each day. Among them is a remote...
Government's Emergency Phone Number
by Michael Fickes
At 6:14 a.m. on July 16, the National Response Center (NRC), a small federal agency, received an emergency call: A tugboat guiding a barge up the St....
High-Tech Mapping Protects G-8 Summit
Oct 1, 2004
An enhanced high-tech, collaborative mapping tool is helping law enforcement and emergency management officials better coordinate event and incident planning...
Protecting The Protectors
By Carol Carey
Often cited as a retirement and vacation Mecca, Sarasota, Fla., with its 35 miles of beaches and ample opportunities for recreational and cultural activities...
Looking Down, Locking Up
JENNIFER PERO
Many people never notice the numerous manholes on sidewalks and streets, but those manholes serve as entryways to the nation's extensive underground infrastructure....
FACIAL RECOGNITION IN ACTION
Aug 1, 2004
Whether to solve crimes, ensure jail security, or protect the general public, law enforcement's ability to put a name to a face is critical in making...
Inter-Agency Standard For Mobile Radios
DAVID STOREY
Public safety agencies are migrating to new digital two-way land mobile radio (LMR) equipment that meets the specifications required by the technical...
NEW JERSEY'S MEGA-SYSTEM
JEFF RECHTSTEINER
In New Jersey state government, the Treasury Department's Division of Property Management and Construction is a single end-user, with some 60 client buildings...
Wireless Bounces Back
MICHAEL FICKES
Denver police officers in 35 patrol cars are using laptop computers to test a mobile wireless computer network. Each laptop has a special modem card to...
Disposing of Bomb Threats
Grant Haber
Blast mitigation devices, such as bomb-resistant waste receptacles, are being deployed to defend one of the softest terrorist targets. A necessity for...
WHEN TO RUN. WHEN TO HIDE.
BY ANDREA HOUTKIN
Before Sept. 11, the evacuation process required neither preparation or explaining. What the attack on the World Trade Center dramatized, however, was...
Re-Inventing The Public Safety Infrastructure
Michael Fickes
One component of the U.S. military success in Iraq has been information superiority, but here at home, “emergency response systems are still using 19th...
Citizens Against Terrorism
Michael Fickes
Last month, the Washoe County Sheriff's Office in Reno, Nev., received a call from a concerned citizen. She had discovered Arabic notes written in the...
Doing More With Wireless
Feb 1, 2004
As a network administrator for the City of Tallahassee (Fla.), Terry Baker wasn't going to deploy a wireless network at City Hall without complete confidence...
What's Behind the Slow Flow of Federal Homeland Security Dollars to Local Jurisdictions?
By Beth Wade
Delays and uncertainty mark much of the Homeland Security funding process. Last year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) introduced new distribution rules that were designed to streamline the process, yet the changes resulted in a patchwork of application procedures that differ from state to state. Facing substantial learning curves and working through them on a learn-as-you-go basis, state and local governments are caught in a time warp: They are resolving disbursement issues for fiscal...
Tug of War
Paul Rothman
Many state and local officials say they aren't getting the money they need to fend off terrorism or to manage the aftermath of an attack, according to...
