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APCO SEEKS COMMENTS ON REVISIONS TO MINIMUM TRAINING STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS July 1, 2009, Alexandria, Va. – The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International today released for comment a standard to identify minimum training requirements for public safety telecommunicators. The revision includes information for those typically charged with receiving, processing, transmitting, and conveying public safety information to dispatchers, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, emergency medical and emergency management personnel. This document seeks to define training in certain knowledge, skills, and abilities to be provided to telecommunicators by the agency, allowing different agencies to comply with the portions of the standard applicable to the functions within their agency. The revisions were facilitated by APCO International’s Call Center Standards Committee, which is made up of public safety communications subject matter experts from across the U.S. The Georgia Public Safety Training Center compiled the research the committee conducted through regional Occupational Analysis Workshops over the past year to assist with the revisions. The Workshops consisted of consulting multiple panels of professionals representing each position and validation panels of each were conducted to produce job profile charts. “APCO International is proud of the work of this committee to continually review and update this most important standard for our public safety professionals,” APCO International President Chris Fischer said. “The issue of standardized training for telecommunicators has been the topic of much discussion lately and we are glad to provide this benchmark for the industry through our inclusive and iterative standardization process.” The draft is available for public review and comment through July 30 at www.apcostandards.org. After all comments are addressed and needed changes made, the final draft will be presented to the APCO International Executive Council for ratification. Following their approval, the final document will be facilitated through APCO International's American National Standards (ANS) process to become an American National Standards Institute- (ANSI) approved standard. The final standard is tentatively planned to receive approval in December 2009. |
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APCO CONGRATULATES GENACHOWSKI AND MCDOWELL |
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APCO RESPONDS TO NENA BROADBAND NETWORK POSITION June 25, 2009, Alexandria, Va. – The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International today responded to a proposal from the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) regarding public safety broadband communications. NENA’s plan is to auction both the 700-MHz band D-block and adjacent 10 MHz of public-safety spectrum for commercial use. “APCO International cannot support NENA’s proposal, as it gives back scarce public safety spectrum and undermines progress made during recent meetings among major public safety organizations to further address matters related to the development of a nationwide interoperable broadband network,” APCO International President Chris Fischer said. “APCO International understands NENA’s perspective on this issue as it relates to how a national broadband network may eventually be used for 9-1-1 networks. However, we are concerned that their proposal does not provide for the controls needed by public safety to ensure a nationwide deployment and network reliability.” APCO International has supported a number of possible solutions for the deployment of a nationwide network that is viable not only for the major cities, but also the most rural parts of America. “This proposal is contrary to APCO International’s position and that of many other public safety organizations,” Fischer said. “Public safety fought long and hard for clear, dedicated spectrum and it would be a huge mistake to give that up in exchange for discounted service from a commercial provider that will not meet mission-critical communications requirements. While new ideas are always welcome, we hope that our friends and colleagues at NENA will reconsider their proposal. APCO International recognizes that while we generally concur broadly with our partner organizations on issues of mutual interest, there are times when associations that collaborate consistently will have differing positions, as is the case with NENA’s position on auctioning the aforementioned public-safety spectrum for commercial use.” |
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ORLAND CENTRAL DISPATCH IMPLEMENTS APCO EMD June 17, 2009, Orland Park, Ill. – Orland Central Dispatch recently implemented the APCO Institute Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) Program. Orland Central Dispatch provides 9-1-1 call taking and dispatching for the Villages of Orland Park, Orland Hills and Romeoville and the City of Calumet with three full-time staff and an annual call volume of 23,000. The APCO Institute EMD Program, based on EMD Guidecards and software, is a systematic way to manage emergency medical service (EMS) resources in an organized and effective manner and to provide medical assistance to callers, when needed, until medically trained field response units arrive at the scene. “The APCO Institute welcomes Orland Central Dispatch as an EMD User Agency and looks forward to working with their staff to provide EMD services to their area,” APCO Institute Director Julie Troutman said. |
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LAURA BURGESS MARKETING, LLC WELCOMES NEW PARTNER AND NEW SENIOR MARCOM MANAGER ABOARD
“I am really excited to have Eric and Ashley join our team,” said Laura Burgess, Founder and President of Laura Burgess Marketing, LLC. “With Eric’s strategic organizational knowledge and Ashley’s MARCOM experience, especially with new media formats such as Twitter and Facebook, we’re really looking forward to expanding our service offerings for our current and future clients.”
Ashley joins Laura Burgess Marketing, LLC with more than three years experience within the marketing communications and public relations industry. A graduate from Babson College, an internationally recognized leader in entrepreneurial management education, Ashley brings her knowledge of how to achieve leverage through direct and indirect marketing communications and public relation efforts. Prior to Laura Burgess Marketing, LLC, Ashley was a Marketing Specialist at Bullhorn, Inc., where she was responsible for organizing events and trade shows, including a half a million dollar user conference, as well as balancing its social media platform. Now, more than ever, Laura Burgess Marketing, LLC is your immediate link to the media. For more information on any services provided by Laura Burgess Marketing, LLC, please call 603-436-1748 or email laura@lauraburgess.com. About Laura Burgess Marketing, LLC: Laura Burgess Marketing, LLC provides public relations and marketing communications to companies within the law enforcement, tactical, military, shooting sports, home building, boating and fishing markets. An industry veteran, with over 17 years of experience, Laura Burgess Marketing, LLC current client list includes; BLACKHAWK! Products Group, SIG SAUER, Revision Eyewear Ltd., Sabre Defence Industries, International Training, Inc., Protective Products International, American Technologies Network Corp. and Sentry Solutions, LLC. www.lauraburgess.com. |
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ANSI APPROVES APCO/NENA STANDARD FOR TERT DEPLOYMENT June 15, 2009, Alexandria, Va. – The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) today announced the approval of the American National Standard (ANS) to assist public safety answering points (PSAPs) and governing 9-1-1 authorities with the information required for developing, training, equipping and deploying a Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TERT) team. The Standard for TERT Deployment, APCO/NENA ANS 1.105.1-2009, was approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on May 29. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and other natural disasters that devastated many areas of our country, public safety communications centers have faced tremendous challenges. One of the greatest was maintaining adequate staffing levels of the communications centers. To address this problem and expand on some individual state initiatives in place, APCO International and NENA joined to create the National Joint TERT Initiative (NJTI), designed to assist states in developing programs to establish predetermined, selected and trained teams of individuals who can mobilize quickly to assist communications centers during disasters. “The unique nature of communications centers requires that daily operations continue regardless of circumstances,” APCO International President Chris Fischer said. “It is, therefore, imperative that PSAPs plan for emergency circumstances that adversely affect their ability to adequately staff their center.” The ANS can be downloaded at http://www.apcointl.org/new/commcenter911/APCOstandards.php . For comments or questions, e-mail standards@apco911.org. |
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NRF Organized Retail Crime Survey Finds Criminals View Global Recession as Opportunity to Abuse Retailers and Consumers Washington, June 10, 2009 – As another illustration of the wide effect of the down economy, retailers and consumers are increasingly being victimized by organized retail crime groups. According to NRF’s fifth annual Organized Retail Crime survey, nine out of ten retailers (92%) report that their companies were victims of organized retail crime during the past year, up eight percent from 2008. Nearly three-fourths (73%) of retailers also reported the level of organized retail crime activity has increased over the past 12 months, an increase of 11 percent from 2008. Loss prevention executives from 115 companies, including department, discount, drug, grocery, restaurant and specialty retailers, completed the survey last month. “The unfortunate economic events of the past year have played an intricate role in how criminals continue to rip off the retail industry,” said Joe LaRocca, NRF Senior Asset Protection Advisor. “Organized retail crime rings have realized that tough economic times present new business opportunities by stealing valuable items from retailers and turning around to sell the merchandise to consumers looking for bargains.” Even with the economy forcing retailers to cut staff and do more with less, 42 percent of retailers say their company is allocating additional resources to address organized retail crime. According to the survey, the average retailer spends approximately $215,000 annually just on labor costs to fight organized retail crime. Some retailers surveyed spend far more, with six percent of respondents spending more than $1 million dollars a year to employ loss prevention executives devoted to organized retail crime. The fight against organized retail crime would be futile without the support of top management. According to the survey, nearly half (49%) of respondents believe senior management in their company understands the seriousness of the issue. For the first time in the survey’s history, NRF also asked loss prevention executives whether they felt law enforcement had a firm grasp on the issue; 38 percent agreed that police officers, detectives and federal law enforcement understood the complexity and severity of organized retail crime. Thanks to the new partnerships formed with Federal and local law enforcement officials, retailers have had some success identifying stolen merchandise or gift cards at physical fence locations such as pawn shops and temporary stores (60%) and through online e-fencing operations (60%), where stolen merchandise is sold through online auction sites. Organized retail crime is not only an isolated problem in a handful of areas across the country. According to the survey, a staggering 72 percent of retailers have identified organized retail crime syndicates who are exporting goods outside of the U.S. or across state lines. Additionally, 28 percent found that criminal groups under current investigation have connections to street gangs with international connections. When asked how they would rank organized retail crime as a threat to their company, nearly one-third (29%) of retailers gave organized retail crime a “four” or “five” rating, identifying the problem as severe or significant. On average, retailers gave organized retail crime a rating of 2.87 on a five-point scale. NRF will address organized retail crime and many other loss prevention issues such as return fraud and counterfeiting at its annual Loss Prevention Conference and EXPO at the Los Angeles Convention Center, June 15-17. Law enforcement officials and retailers are eligible for complimentary EXPO Hall passes. Visit NRF’s LP Conference website for more information. The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 24 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2008 sales of $4.6 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com. NRF is pleased to grant complimentary registration to editorial staff members of the press, as well as accredited retail analysts and bloggers. Register online for NRF’s 2009 Loss Prevention Conference and EXPO, or call Kathy Grannis at (202) 626-8189. |
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APCO & NENA ENDORSE LTE AS TECHNOLOGY STANDARD FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONWIDE BROADBAND NETWORK June 9, 2009, Alexandria, Va. - The Board of Officers of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International and the Executive Committee of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) today announced both organizations’ endorsement of Long Term Evolution (LTE) as the technological standard to be used in the development of a nationwide interoperable broadband network in the 700-MHz band assigned to public safety. APCO and NENA also urged their partner organizations meeting this week at the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council to join in endorsing LTE. LTE is a standard capable of supporting public safety needs for voice, video and data communications with high bandwidth and low latency, which can significantly improve first-responder access to mission-critical communications using bandwidth-hungry applications. Further, LTE’s all-IP architecture, spectral efficiency, and bandwidth flexibility will improve overall network economics. Coupled with economies of scale to be gained as commercial carriers build networks in this spectrum, it is anticipated that public safety will reap substantial benefits by adopting LTE as the standard for its nationwide interoperable network from the start by capitalizing on research and development currently underway. “The performance and capabilities of LTE represent a means by which the public safety community can effectively plan to deploy broadband services to the field,” said NENA President Ron Bonneau. “Deciding at the outset on a standard to build upon will give public safety the ability to immediately focus on crucial issues such as infrastructure build out and roaming access while embedding cost saving measures in the process as a single standard is used from the outset,” said APCO International President Chris Fischer. A national, interoperable network is necessary to interrupt the current cycle of a patchwork of systems with varying degrees of capability, inconsistent levels of interoperability, inefficient use of spectrum, and the lack of a competitive open marketplace for radio equipment. The technical specifications available via LTE will help public safety reach these goals. About APCO International About the National Emergency Number Association |
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PORTSMOUTH, NH – July 21, 2009 - Laura Burgess Marketing, LLC, public relations and marketing communications for the law enforcement, tactical, military, and shooting sports markets, today announced the addition of Eric Burgess, Co-Owner and Partner, and Ashley Burgess, Senior MARCOM Manager, to its team. Eric and Ashley will be responsible for driving Laura Burgess Marketing, LLC’s revenue growth, market expansion and new service offerings. 
Having been a silent partner since Laura Burgess Marketing, LLC’s founding in 2003, Eric is now stepping into the public eye. He brings over 30 years of managerial, organizational, IT and finance experience. Prior to Laura Burgess Marketing, LLC, Eric had implemented new technology at Little Harbor Windows Company and James M. Taylor Furniture that led to an increase in efficiency and production that helped to streamline operations within each company.