APCO is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 Public Safety Communications Awards and Technology Leadership Awards. The winners will be recognized during the Opening General Session at APCO 2023, APCO’s Annual Conference & Expo, August 6-9 in Nashville, Tennessee. Congratulations to the following winners:

Communications Center Director of the Year
Kelley Cunningham
Eaton County 911
Charlotte, MI

Telecommunicator of the Year
Jaclyn Vernon
New Castle County
New Castle, DE

Trainer of the Year
Bret Batchelor
North Central Texas Emergency Communications District
Arlington, TX

Line Supervisor of the Year
Heather Robinson
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office
Bunnell, FL

Information Technologist of the Year
Vaughan Nasse
Cobb County Department of Emergency Communications
Marietta, GA

Radio Frequency Technologist of the Year
Peter Jimenez
Orange County Sheriff’s Office
Orange, CA

Technology in Leadership Award – Large Agency
Jeffcom 911
Lakewood, CO

Technology in Leadership Award – Small Agency
Village of Melrose Park
Melrose Park, IL

The SAFECOM Nationwide Survey (SNS) is now live, and your participation impacts future emergency communications decisions! The SNS supplies essential data on emergency communications capability gaps that can be used to advocate for funding, establish priorities and improve operations. Participation by public safety organizations helps to highlight those advancements that will secure resilient operable and interoperable communications in an ever-evolving environment. The SNS measures progress made while identifying gaps in emergency communications and defining the range for new capabilities. 

Additional information about the SNS is available at cisa.gov/sns. For questions, please email sns@cisa.dhs.gov. The deadline is July 21.
Take the survey

Earlier this week President Biden announced the nomination of Anna Gomez to serve as Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the renominations of current Commissioners Carr and Starks. Commissioners Carr and Starks have demonstrated a commitment to serving the public interest as existing Commissioners. They have both been supportive of advancing public safety communications including several visits to 9-1-1 centers.
Read more

The United States and international cybersecurity authorities have issued a joint cybersecurity advisory (CSA) titled “People's Republic of China State-Sponsored Cyber Actor Living (also known as Volt Typhoon) off the Land to Evade Detection.” One of the actor's primary tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) is living off the land, which uses built-in network administration tools to perform their objectives. This TTP allows the actor to evade detection by blending in with normal Windows system and network activities, avoid endpoint detection and response (EDR) products that would alert on the introduction of third-party applications to the host, and limit the amount of activity that is captured in default logging configurations. This CSA provides mitigation strategies, logging recommendations and indicators of compromise (IOC) summary.

 This Joint Cybersecurity Alert is available on cisa.gov.

This fall, the APCO Institute will host a specialized three-day, two-course training series on cybersecurity at APCO headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida. The training addresses the unique cybersecurity challenges of emergency communications centers (ECCs). The first course, Cybersecurity Fundamentals for the ECC, is offered on September 19 and is worth 8 CDEs. APCO’s newest course, Intermediate Cybersecurity Principles for the ECC, will take place September 20-21 and is worth 16 CDEs. Both courses offer live instruction by seasoned cybersecurity instructors experienced with ECC cybersecurity issues. Class size is limited, so early registration is encouraged. Participants must successfully pass the cybersecurity fundamentals course (on September 19 or in a previous course) before advancing to the intermediate cybersecurity course.
Learn more

Jennifer Savely is a dispatcher for the Kenai Police Department in Alaska. Jennifer has always been interested in dispatch, and when the opportunity presented itself, the Alaskan native didn’t hesitate to apply. Jennifer’s interest in public safety was cultivated at a young age. Acting on that interest, Jennifer joined the Kenai Police Department.
Read more

Space is open for these courses coming up this summer.

Beginning in June:

• Comprehensive Quality (6/14 - 7/18) Online
• Fire Service Communications, 2nd Edition (6/19 - 6/22) Virtual Classroom
• Surviving Stress (6/14 - 7/4) Online  
• Communications Training Officer, 6th Edition (6/21 - 7/25) Online
• Crisis Negotiations, 2nd Edition (6/28 - 7/18) Online 

Beginning in July:

• Active Shooter Incidents, 2nd Edition (7/5 - 7/25) Online
• Communications Center Supervisor (7/5 - 7/7) Virtual Classroom
• Customer Service in Today’s Public Safety Communications (7/5 - 7/25) Online
• Cybersecurity Fundamentals for the ECC (7/11) Virtual Classroom
• Fundamentals of Tactical Dispatch (7/12 - 7/13) Virtual Classroom
• Law Enforcement Communications (7/12 - 8/22) Online  

View the full training calendar

RGB Spectrum’s New Zio D2100 Series Decoders Now Available