The Mission-Critical Resource Center

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On-Demand Webinar: The Top Strategic Public Safety Trends for 2019

There are several significant, disruptive technology and operations trends that Mission Critical Partners feels will set the stage for the future of public safety over the next three to five years. Public safety agencies must understand these trends, begin preparing for them now, and understand how to adjust their operations in order to adapt. They are trends that cannot afford to ignored.

Whitepaper: A Smarter Approach to Resolving the 911 Hiring Struggle

In Summary: 

  • Staffing and hiring struggles have plagued public safety agencies for years and the situation is worsening

  • High personnel churn and attrition rates contribute to the shortage

  • Workforce optimization is the right approach for 911 officials looking to resolving 911 staffing struggles instead of simply focusing on recruitment


Staffing 911 centers has become a huge concern in the public safety communications community. In this report, we explore the concept of workforce optimization, of which training is one of four key pillars, with recruitment, hiring and retention being the others. 

Infographic: Overcome Staffing Challenges with Workforce Optimization

According to the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), Americans make an average of 240 million 911 calls annually. Today, public safety answering points (PSAPs) around the country are faced with the challenge of finding and retaining the right staff to answer those calls. This is a critical imperative because when a 911 call goes unanswered, the results can be devastating. What steps can PSAP leaders take to begin overcoming their staffing challenges today while preparing for tomorrow?

10 Facts Every PSAP Should Know About Data Integration

The future of data integration: 10 facts every public safety answering point (PSAP) should know.

Critical data is springing up everywhere. This quick read discusses the ten most important elements about data integration every public safety agency should know, ranging from precise location information, smart and safe cities, social media data usage in the PSAP, data sources, supplemental data, as well as GIS data management. 

911 Call-Handling System Procurement and Implementation Support in San Francisco

In Summary:

  • The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management sought a robust, modern call-handling solution and needed guidance defining requirements, as well as during the procurement and implementation process.

  • In 2017, they hired Mission Critical Partners to help them build requirements, and to support the agency's implementation efforts.

  • The new call-handling solution has played a role helping 911 call-answering times improve.


"MCP's guidance during the procurement stage was invaluable. Their familiarity working with 911 call-handling system vendors and their knowledge of the newest technology and vendors available played an essential role helping us feel more comfortable with the requirements-gathering and RFP process."

Jun Chen, PMO Manager, City and County of San Francisco

Overview and Agency Challenge

The city of San Franscisco Department of Emergency Management (DEM) sought a robust, modern call-handling system that would support its 42 call-taking positions. A second requirement was a path to a National Emergency Number Association (NENA) i3-compliant system and meeting public safety standards for performance and reliability. They looked for a partner that could provide guidance defining requirements, as well as during the procurement and implementation process.

911 Operations: How Next Generation 911 and FirstNet Will Impact PSAPs

In Summary:

  • Together, Next Generation 911 and the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network will enhance the role of PSAPs exponentially.

  • While exciting, this also creates uncertainty as these new networks collectively will unlease a torrent of information and data that must be processed.

  • PSAPs will need to undergo profound operational and policy changes.


The NPSBN and NG911 will generate new forms of data communications that will enable telecommunicators to make better-informed decisions when dispatching first responders. This whitepaper discusses the profound operational changes that 911 centers will need to make in order to take advantage of the new capabilities.
 
Because the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) and Next Generation 911 (NG911) are both Internet Protocol-based, broadband-enabled platforms, they will generate new forms of data communications that will flow into PSAPs and improve situational awareness dramatically. However, telecommunicator jobs are already stressful. These stresses will rise quickly if PSAPs are not well-positioned to handle the enormous amounts of data that will be available in the future. Instead, PSAPs need to make a number of major operational changes. This whitepaper discusses those operational changes, which include:
  • Data-analytics systems
  • Data storage
  • Modern, state-of-the-art communications systems
  • Bolstered telecommunicator support programs
  • Enhanced workplace training