NENA NEWS
On March 13, NENA kicked off the NENA Foundation’s "Friends of 9-1-1" fundraising campaign with a special screening of the new film The Call and an in-person appearance by the film's star, Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry.
 In the film, which opened in theaters nationwide on March 15, Ms. Berry plays a 9-1-1 operator attempting to save a kidnapped teenage girl. In preparation for the role, Ms. Berry was trained by actual 9-1-1 professionals at a Los Angeles Police Department emergency communications center. At the screening, the actress told more than 180 L.A.-area emergency call takers and other invited guests she was pleased to help launch the NENA campaign.
"Like most people, I had no idea what you do," Berry said. "But after seeing the vastness of it, I wanted to honor you in this role. And I want the world to know you are the unsung heroes of this city and every community in America."
"We are so grateful to Ms. Berry, Sony Pictures, and the entire team involved in this film for their support," said NENA CEO Brian Fontes. "Through the Friends of 9-1-1, we are expanding our support of education and training programs for 9-1-1 professionals and raising awareness of the issues facing every local 9-1-1 agency."
Read more about the event and Friends of 9-1-1.
If you are looking to dialog with peers about pressing public safety issues, gather information to make informed purchasing decisions, enhance you resume, or make valuable, long-lasting connections... NENA 2013 is the event for you! Each day of the conference features special networking events designed to help you get the most out of your conference experience.
Click here to download our new Networking/Conference-at-a-Glance flyer for more information on the myriad events and activities in store for attendees!
No matter what your role is in public safety, no other conference can offer you the quality or quantity of growth and development opportunities available at NENA 2013. In addition to our abundant networking opportunities, NENA 2013 features renowned keynote speakers, dozens of education sessions designed to enrich you personally as well as professionally, comprehensive full-day courses with real-world applications, and an exhibit hall showcasing cutting-edge products and services.
NENA 2013 is the must-attend event of the year for today's emergency communications professional. Don't miss your chance to be a part of it!
Curious about how to get the most out of your membership? Check out the new 2013 NENA Membership Guide! It's full of information about the myriad benefits and resources available to you as a NENA member (We've got a lot to offer!). In addition to the virtual edition, keep your eyes peeled for the print version, which should be arriving in your mailbox shortly. Contact us if you would like additional copies to distribute as part of our 2013 recruitment efforts!
The William E. Stanton Award is NENA's highest honor. It is bestowed upon an individual who has not only excelled in his or her everyday job, but has gone above and beyond to further NENA's goals. Nominations for this prestigious annual award are now open.
Click here for additional information on the award, including criteria, past recipients, and the nomination form. Deadline for nominations is March 29, 2013.
We are excited to announce the launch of a new rewards program - available exclusively to you as a member of NENA! To join, log in to nena.org and click on the Member Rewards link from your member profile menu.
Designed to provide exclusive money-saving offers to our members, the new Member Rewards program gives you immediate access to THOUSANDS of discounts from a wide variety of exciting companies like AMC Theatres, Sprint, Walt Disney World, Red Lobster, 1-800-Flowers, Macy's and many more. There is an annual fee of $19.95* to join.
Join now, browse great deals, and start saving today! PLUS, a small portion of the proceeds will go to support NENA initiatives and help keep your membership dues low. Thank you for your support... and happy savings.
NENA's Center Manager Certification Program (CMCP) is designed to equip recently hired, newly promoted, and aspiring PSAP and 9-1-1 Authority managers and supervisors with the tools needed to effectively manage their agency through a rigorous 40-hour course of lecture and lab-based education. For more seasoned 9-1-1 professionals, the CMCP may serve to fill in some of the gaps and strengthen core competencies required in emergency communications center management.
The CMCP, unlike many other upper-level emergency communications training programs, utilizes a real-world, hands-on approach that is focused on topics encountered daily by managerial and supervisory level personnel: Business Writing, Financial Management, Human Resources, Legal Issues, and Communications Skills. With a curriculum built by current and former 9-1-1 center managers with decades of combined supervisory and training experience, the program will provide you with knowledge and skills that can immediately and drastically improve your on-the-job effectiveness and enhance your agency's everyday operations.
Register for upcoming CMCPs:
Registration coming soon for:
- 12.09-13 in Gainesville, FL
As an active member, you know the value of NENA membership. Spread the word to peers and coworkers and earn great prizes and continuing education opportunities.
How it Works
Participation has never been easier. Simply log in to the new nena.org, click on the Refer a Friend link from the "My NENA Account" menu on the left-hand side of the screen, and send out your personal referral link to invite friends and colleagues to join online. This exciting new feature even allows you to track your invitations and rewards points along the way! For those recruits who choose to sign up using NENA's printable membership application, make sure they include your name in the "Referred by" line of the application.
The more you recruit, the greater the prize!
Every eligible member who recruits at least one (1) new member between January 1, 2013, and March 31, 2013, will receive an exclusive NENA member pen. Recruit as many new members as possible to reach new recruiter levels and earn rewards and valuable education opportunities including complimentary course, CMCP, and Annual Conference registration.
Start recruiting today! Visit the Member Recruitment page for full program details.
By now, you should have received an email from NENA with a link to your 2013 NENA dues invoice. Help NENA go green and save a stamp by choosing to pay online by check or credit card. If this is not an option for you or your agency, the email also contained a link allowing you to print out a copy of your invoice for local processing.
Instantly renew your membership online in just a few easy steps:
1) Simply log in to the NENA website.
3) Click on Membership under the "Account History" header to view your renewal options.
4) Pay online by check or credit card.
5) Print out a receipt for your records.
Thank you for your continued support of NENA. We look forward to sharing many new and exciting member benefits with you in the coming year!
Make sure the addresses (email and postal) that we have on file for you are current! Please log in to your online member account to verify or update your information, or send an email to Bri Robinson.
OPS UPDATE
Domestic and international terrorism plots did not end with 9/11—in fact, they continue to grow and threaten the United States, its citizens, and its critical infrastructure. Reporting suspicious activity to law enforcement provides leads to further investigations and helps prevent crime, including terrorism.
In the course of their daily duties and responsibilities, public safety telecommunications professionals may receive information during their interactions with the public regarding suspicious activity that could be an indicator of a terrorist attack or other criminal activity. This online training video was developed to assist public safety telecommunications professionals in:
- Recognizing what kinds of suspicious behaviors are associated with pre-incident terrorism activities.
- Understanding how and where to report suspicious activity.
- Protecting privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties when reporting or documenting information.
Public safety telecommunications professionals can incorporate this video into their training programs for current or newly hired public safety telecommunications personnel.
Information received from multiple jurisdictions indicates the possibility of attacks targeting the telephone systems of public sector entities. Dozens of such attacks have targeted the administrative PSAP lines (not the 9-1-1 emergency line). The perpetrators of the attack have launched high volume of calls against the target network, tying up the system from receiving legitimate calls. This type of attack is referred to as a TDoS or Telephony Denial of Service attack. These attacks are ongoing. Many similar attacks have occurred targeting various businesses and public entities, including the financial sector and other public emergency operations interests, including air ambulance, ambulance and hospital communications.
These recent TDoS attacks are part of an extortion scheme. This scheme starts with a phone call to an organization from an individual claiming to represent a collections company for payday loans. The caller usually has a strong accent of some sort and asks to speak with a current or former employee concerning an outstanding debt. Failing to get payment from an individual or organization, the perpetrator launches a TDoS attack. The organization will be inundated with a continuous stream of calls for an unspecified, but lengthy period of time. The attack can prevent both incoming and/or outgoing calls from being completed. It is speculated that government offices/emergency services are being "targeted" because of the necessity of functional phone lines.
TECH UPDATE
In NG9-1-1, all call media must be recorded, including voice, video, and text. In addition, all elements involved in call processing log event records for each step in the process. The NENA i3 Solution defines standard interfaces for recording and retrieving all of these data in order to provide historical records for operational, training, and legal purposes, and for analyzing and troubleshooting NG9-1-1 processes. The ICE 8 event, being planned for the fall of 2013, will allow vendors of all NG9-1-1 call processing elements to test logging, recording, and retrieval interfaces while processing calls from origination to termination with different media types.
An ICE 8 Planning Committee has been formed, and vendors of all NG9-1-1 equipment and systems are encouraged to join the more than 25 vendors who are already participating. ICE 8 will provide a unique opportunity for all NG9-1-1 vendors to process multimedia calls end-to-end while their events and media are being logged and recorded. This event will provide the most comprehensive NG9-1-1 test opportunity yet.
ICE 8 requires broad participation from vendors of all types of NG9-1-1 equipment. Recording and logging in the NG9-1-1 setting requires active participation from all call processing equipment. Vendors of call processing equipment need to demonstrate interoperability just as much as do vendors of recording and logging equipment, in order to maximize market opportunities. This event will go far beyond the logging and recording that were done at previous ICE events, and thus represents a major step forward for NG9-1-1 vendors.
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE
In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC seeks comment on approaches to ensure the reliability and resiliency of the communications infrastructure necessary to ensure continued availability of the Nation’s 9-1-1 system, particularly during times of major disaster.
The FCC takes this action in response to the findings and recommendations presented in the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau’s January 10, 2013, report titled Impact of the June 2012 Derecho on Communications Networks and Services: Report and Recommendations. In that report, following an extensive inquiry and review of comments, the Bureau found that the June 2012 derecho affecting the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic United States severely disrupted 9-1-1-related communications and that these disruptions were due in large part to avoidable planning and systems failures within 9-1-1 service providers’ networks. The Bureau concluded that these failures could, and would, have been avoided if providers had followed industry best practices and other sound engineering principles.
Unlike a hurricane or superstorm predicted well in advance, the derecho arrived with very little notice, testing the preparedness and resiliency of 9-1-1 communications in the face of a sudden emergency. This test revealed serious vulnerabilities that cannot be overlooked. Accordingly, the Bureau recommended that the Commission consider action in the following areas: (1) 9-1-1 circuit auditing; (2) 9-1-1 service provider central office backup power; (3) physical diversity of monitor and control links; and (4) improved outage notification to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). This Notice seeks comment on approaches to implement these recommendations.
The objective of the indoor E9-1-1 location test bed is to provide a platform to test the accuracy and dependability of location technologies in the indoor environment across as many building types and neighborhood descriptions (e.g. dense urban, suburban, etc.) as possible. While there are differing goals among the WG 3 members, a primary goal of this testing will be to provide the FCC with verified data for the capabilities of indoor location technologies on which to base their decisions as regards the strategic direction of public safety services in this environment. Another goal will be to establish a benchmark upon which emerging technologies can be compared to determine their relative promise in improving the capabilities (both in terms of accuracy and/or consistency) that are currently available.
It is anticipated that this report will provide a clearer picture of the indoor performance of location technologies available today or potentially in the near future. It is believed that the report will present the most current picture of the ability to present "actionable locations" to public safety responders. The various providers of public safety response, 9-1-1 Communications, Law Enforcement, Fire and EMS all have the same basic needs and desires concerning location of those in need of assistance. The results of the Test Bed will enable public safety associations to better educate Public Safety personnel on the current capabilities of location technology in the indoor environment, as well as provide some insights into the future.
On March 14, NENA Government Affairs Director Trey Forgety testified in front of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Communications and Technology in the Oversight of FirstNet and Emergency Communications hearing. Click here to read his testimony in full. Testimony summary points are below.
1. NG9-1-1 service is the critical consumer-to-PSAP counterpart to the PSAP-to-field communications capability offered by FirstNet.
2. Congress should ensure that FirstNet leverages the extensive technical and operational development work already completed for NG9-1-1.
3. Congress should allow all 9-1-1 to compete for grant funding by including 9-1-1 in the definition of "public safety" for all federal public safety grant programs.
4. Consistent with the FCC’s report, Congress should direct the National Implementation Coordination Office to deploy a PSAP Credentialing Agency and a national Forest Guide to support NG9-1-1 system security and call routing.
5. Congress should direct the Department of Homeland Security to deploy a national 9-1-1 data collection and analytics capability to provide real-time insight into natural and man-made disasters and aid the detection of cyber attacks on Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs).
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION NEWS
NENA recently launched a FREE email news service called Public Safety SmartBrief. It provides a weekly summary of news, trends and updates on public safety issues - not just 9-1-1, but police, fire and EMS. Knowledgeable editors handpick key articles from hundreds of publications, summarize them and provide direct links to the original sources.
In other words, we do all the research and you get the latest news in your inbox or on your handheld device, absolutely free.
HELP WANTED
NENA's new and improved career center now offers more options and search functionality to job seekers and recruiters, including the ability to browse openings by category, subscribe to receive email notifications of new openings, and apply for openings directly online. Recruiters can now view and rate candidates applying for openings, search the resume database of available candidates (members-only feature), and manage postings online.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Save the Date: Nov. 2-6 at the Union Station Hotel in St. Louis, MO! This conference, held in conjunction with URISA, focuses on the importance of addresses and locations in 9-1-1, public safety, emergency management, and other fields. GIS professionals, addressing coordinators, planners, 9-1-1 and emergency response specialists come together for workshops, education, collaboration, and networking. Registration and additional details coming soon!
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