Public Safety Data Harnessing is a Big, Vitally Important Job

On December 8, Mission Critical Partners (MCP) kicked off its tenth-annual, two-day extravaganza in Pittsburgh, an event that brings together all 125 MCP professionals from around the county, as well as keynote speakers and several clients. The purpose of the event is to discuss in detail emerging and industry-changing topics, network, inspire, and educate MCP professionals on the biggest topics impacting public safety.

The key theme that emerged at this year’s end-of-year event was the need for the public safety community to figure out ways to harness the tremendous amount of data that could be available to first responders in the nation’s emergency communications centers (ECCs) and in the field.

Five Things Happening in Public Safety We’re Thankful for This Thanksgiving

As we kick off the start of the holiday season and give thanks for the successes of the past year, as well as the change underway in the public safety communications sector, there’s a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Here’s what we’re thankful for.

Proposed Three-Digit Suicide-Prevention ‘Lifeline’ Will Benefit Public Safety Communications

About a decade ago, I received a call that no one wants to get—a beloved family member had committed suicide. He was schizophrenic, had tried a couple of times before—cry-for-help attempts, apparently—and he wasn’t good about taking his meds, so the call wasn’t unexpected. Nevertheless, it was stunning and sobering, with all of the “what could I have done to prevent this” questions running rampant amongst family and friends.

Implementing a Fresh Approach to Overcoming PSAP Staffing Challenges

In our first webinar event of 2019, our subject-matter experts discussed the trends to watch in the coming year and at the top of that list was the challenge agencies and leadership face when staffing public safety answering points (PSAPs). Today, nearly three-quarters of the way through the year, staffing remains one of the top two things that keeps PSAP managers up at night. If you ask a group of PSAP leaders what word comes to mind when they think of staffing, most of them aren’t going to say “good.” Instead, you’ll hear things like “tired,” “revolving door,” “challenging,” and “stressful.”

How Public Safety Agencies are Navigating Change and Accelerating Progress

MCP’s Model for Advancing Public Safety is Helping Agencies Build a Blueprint for Today and What They Can Become

Last year, the 911 Center that serves Harford County, Maryland, was having a hard time recruiting and retaining telecommunicators, a problem that is quite common in emergency communications centers (ECCs) across the country.

The Five Biggest Takeaways from This Year’s NENA Conference

If you didn’t travel to Orlando last week for the annual National Emergency Number Association (NENA) conference, it can be summed up with one word: progress. The key themes were industry advancement and innovation with several game-changing technologies and initiatives being launched.

NENA Conference and MCP's MAPS Program Will Help Prepare You for What's Coming

After taking a look at the breakout sessions scheduled for the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) trade show and conference—which will be held June 14-19 in Orlando—a clear theme immediately emerged: preparing the nation’s 911 centers for what’s coming next.

And there’s a lot coming.