On a timeline of public safety innovation and advancements, 2012 will be marked as a blockbuster year. The creation of the National Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) and forward movement in next-generation 911 (NG911) marked a 180-degree turn from just a few years ago. And it's about time.
December 24, 2012
Once these decision-makers accept what field cops instinctively know — that smartphones are the future — public safety departments will move quickly to adopt technologies that already exist.
December 16, 2010
Notice that in public safety, we have many capabilities in DNA, prints, biometrics, and yet we have no field capability. Not for long. Finally, police executives and IT professionals in public safety are demanding these new capabilities in RFPS and program development.
September 23, 2010
As LTE begins to be deployed in 2011, according to industry leaders, patrol officers will have access to data and video in vehicles and on hand-held devices. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, the convergence of cellular applications and devices with current antiquated police radio systems has begun.
July 14, 2010
As systems integration shifts competition among handset manufacturers, we can also expect to see handset capabilities expand. Cell phones run circles around a police radio for about 5 percent of the cost.
April 13, 2010
I can't begin to count the times police and fire personnel have asked me why their cell phones have thousands of applications, yet their radios have none. The simple answer is that we, as public safety professionals, have not required it.
December 14, 2009