Mission Critical Partners provides insights into the state of eight areas of the public safety market based on assessment data and anecdotal evidence

State College, Pa. (January 11, 2024) — Mission Critical Partners (MCP) announced the availability of its second edition Analysis + Insights Report, which examines a plethora of technological and operational challenges and opportunities that public safety agencies are facing today.

The report, which focuses on eight key factors, is based on MCP’s proprietary assessment methodology known as the Model for Advancing Public Safety® (MAPS®). The methodology leverages the collective expertise of 200 subject-matter experts (SMEs), industry standards and best practices, and accreditation programs. The key factors consider numerous subfactors, each of which are identified as being low risk, medium risk, or high risk across the industry. This information is supplemented by anecdotal observations made by MCP SMEs as they worked on myriad client projects in 2023.

"The depth and breadth of information contained in this report will help our industry make better-informed decisions,” said Darrin Reilly, MCP president and chief executive officer. “This in turn will enhance emergency-response outcomes. MCP’s subject-matter experts are uniquely positioned to provide this level of analysis, and we’re already looking forward to producing the next annual report, because public safety’s mission matters.”

Each of the key factors is explored in a standalone chapter that examines the relevance of the factor to public safety, changes that have ensued since the initial report was published in 2022, the impact of those changes, and key trends that have emerged. The chapters are as follows:

Land Mobile Radio (LMR) — Many LMR systems are fast approaching or have reached end of life, so they need to be upgraded significantly or replaced altogether. Another significant issue is that a plethora of cybersecurity vulnerabilities have been identified that increase the risk profile for LMR systems exponentially.

Geographic Information Systems — The migration to geospatial call routing necessitates the creation of highly accurate and fully attributed GIS data — something that many public-safety agencies struggle with, which makes the migration to Next Generation extremely challenging, if not impossible.

Next Generation 911 Readiness — While the migration to Next Generation 911 service is flourishing in some areas, it is languishing in many others. Funding, governance, staffing shortages, and a finite number of vendors are significant issues. Standards represent yet another issue — while they exist, they still are evolving.

Emergency Communications Center Operations — They are being hampered by a severe staffing shortage, failure to prepare telecommunicators for the Next Generation 911 environment, a regression in leadership driven by retirements, and a lack of adequate financial resources. However, public safety agencies generally are doing a better job of strategic planning and are becoming more open to the idea of consolidation.

Security — Increasingly, public-safety organizations are being targeted by cyberattackers. While ransomware attacks continue to be the most prevalent, it’s important to note that cyberattackers also may seek to steal personal or highly sensitive data that can be sold to others on the dark web. Public-safety organizations need to pick up the pace considerably to put themselves in the best possible position to avoid cyberattacks — because the situation is only going to get worse.

Staffing — Emergency Communications Centers have been suffering from a severe staffing shortage for the last several years. This situation has worsened and will persist because the candidate pool is shrinking and Baby Boomers are retiring.

Data Integration — Data is essential for better-informed decision-making that will enhance emergency response. Data integration is essential for managing the enormous amount of data that is available to public-safety organizations. But such organizations often fail to consider how their data might be leveraged across the entire ecosystem to enhance emergency-response outcomes. The good news is that this is slowly changing.

Artificial Intelligence — This is a new chapter. Numerous use cases for AI are emerging in the 911 community and some of them are eye-opening. However, AI is not well understood today, and it must be proven that the technology will stand up to the rigors of the mission-critical environment in which public-safety agencies operate. Public safety agencies also need to give serious thought to the problems that they think this technology can help solve — it is important to understand that AI is not a panacea.

For more information on the Analysis + Insights report, click here.

About Mission Critical Partners (MCP)
Mission Critical Partners (MCP) is a leading provider of data integration, consulting, network, and cybersecurity solutions specializing in transforming mission-critical communications networks into integrated ecosystems that improve outcomes in the public safety, justice, healthcare, transportation, and utility markets. Our comprehensive experience and vendor-agnostic approach helps us develop modernized solutions for our clients to maximize value and create optimal efficiency while mitigating risk. Additional information and career opportunities are available at www.MissionCriticalPartners.com.