Lessons Learned on Creating Lasting Relationships with Your Clients
A recent advertisement from USAA got me thinking about customer loyalty and satisfaction. I have been a loyal USAA customer for 25 years. I’ve never even looked around to see whether I could get...
View ArticlePSAP Survey Results: Internet, Device and Social Media Policies
This is the sixth post on results from Rave’s 2013 PSAP Survey to which 610 PSAPs from 50 states responded. This post covers polices around social media and internet access. See the fifth post here...
View Article10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Smart911
Over the years, Smart911 has evolved significantly from when it was first introduced. Here are some things you probably didn’t know about it: It is not just about opt-in personal profiles… facility...
View ArticleCampus Alerts Are Safety Hygiene
I recently asked an emergency manager I know at a large midwestern university about how she made the judgment call on late night alerting for Clery Warnings. Her comment was "well, I get complaints if...
View ArticlePublic-Private Partnerships: Some Considerations
There has been a lot of buzz lately around public-private partnerships (PPP). Forums have questions like “we’re considering a public-private partnership, what lessons can you share to help us?”...
View ArticleRe-Thinking the Role of Call Taking and Dispatch in a NG9-1-1 World
Whether you’ve thought about it as the ability to support text messaging, IP-based call routing, getting additional data on a caller, or something completely different, NG9-1-1 is finally becoming a...
View ArticleCampus Safety Apps Are for Staff and Faculty Too
Mobile Safety Apps Help The Entire Campus Community Mobile safety applications such as Rave Guardian have garnered a lot of attention as tools that help students build a social safety net on campus and...
View ArticleSeparating Fact from Fiction in Your Public Safety Technology Decisions
The public safety market is undergoing a technology transformation unlike any it has ever seen. From public safety broadband networks, to NG911, to smartphones, to wearable cameras and other devices...
View ArticleHow Does E911 Work?
Over the past few months, I’ve found myself describing how E9-1-1 wireless call routing works. I’ve struggled to find a simple way to describe it. Looking at the ENP study guide didn’t help simplify...
View ArticleIACP 2015 Insights – Predictions on New Technology Impacts on 911
Outside of the very cool armored vehicles and weapons on display, there were some clear technology trends at this year’s International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) show in Chicago and many of...
View ArticleHow to Speed up Response to Active Shooters in Higher Ed
By their nature, higher education institutions are generally open environments with minimal control over who has access to their facilities and grounds. In today’s world, that means colleges and...
View ArticleWiFi calling to 911: Testing Results and Implications
Recently, mobile carriers began enabling Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calling on specific devices, where the device is connected to a Wi-Fi access point. Such VoIP calls are placed from the...
View ArticleA Look Back: Top 5 Emergency Communications Trends of 2015
It’s that time of year when we look back at the past year and forward to the next. To understand where we are going, it’s helpful to look at the road we’ve already traveled. In that spirit, here is a...
View ArticleWiFi calling to 911: Testing Results and Implications
Recently, mobile carriers began enabling Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calling on specific devices, where the device is connected to a Wi-Fi access point. Such VoIP calls are placed from the...
View ArticleA Look Back: Top 5 Emergency Communications Trends of 2015
It’s that time of year when we look back at the past year and forward to the next. To understand where we are going, it’s helpful to look at the road we’ve already traveled. In that spirit, here is a...
View ArticleNational Stalking Awareness Month
Today, there is heavy focus on campus safety, particularly on the threat of active shooters. In January during National Stalking Awareness Month, we are asked to take a step back and focus on another...
View ArticleWhat are you overlooking during your emergency notification system evaluation?
When evaluating mass notification systems, a lot of time and effort focuses on system up-time and capacity. Indeed, those metrics are critical to any decision, and many vendors won’t pass that test....
View ArticleLooking Backward and Forward at “Panic Button” Technologies and Requirements
The first month of a new year is a natural time to look back at what was learned and look forward to opportunities for applying your hard-won knowledge. Sometimes you change direction, but hopefully...
View ArticleIs 9-1-1 Still the Number To Call in an Emergency?
With communication technology advances, is 9-1-1 still the number to call in an emergency? Do apps claiming to enhance 911 actually hinder the response process? The post Is 9-1-1 Still the Number To...
View ArticleAn AED Doesn’t Work If It’s Left On The Wall
laire Crawford is a 17 year old high school senior who, thanks to early CPR and an automated external defibrillators (AED), will live to graduate later this year. Fortunately, for her, she collapsed on...
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