Complex emergency management is fundamentally a lesson in organized chaos where accountability is a core foundational element of shared situational awareness. Knowing where to find what you need can be as chaotic given that response assets — the vehicles, equipment, autonomous platforms — are rarely in one place and scattered throughout an area of operation. Asset inventory coupled with resources and capability on a "single...
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For decades now, public safety Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems have provided a reliable, albeit geographically limited, communications backbone and baseline for related command and control systems for public safety agencies. These legacy LMR systems are often limited to the geographic areas of the agency/agencies being served and, in many cases, there may be multiple public safety LMR systems in the same geographic area using...
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The intelligence community has been warning for some time about “home made” explosive and chemical weapons, many of which can be fashioned from materials bought at Home Depot or the local pool supply store. Fast forward to Saturday March 14, 2015 when leaders in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq provided the Reuters news organization with soil and clothing samples taken by the peshmerga from...
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The relationship between weather and emergency management (not to mention emergency preparedness) is fundamental and can be quite complicated. Weather causes many of the disasters that require an emergency response, yet awareness of conditions is essential for management of incidents unrelated to weather as the cause. For sure, meteorological awareness can have a profound effect managing the extent of destruction to life and property to...
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Crisis negotiation and de-escalation are law enforcement techniques used to communicate with people who are threatening violence (workplace violence, domestic violence, suicide, or terrorism) and can include barricaded subjects, stalkers, criminals attempting to escape after a botched robbery, and hostage-takers. While basic voice communications are of extreme value, understanding what is going on when the negotiator and subject are not on the phone enables better...
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BlueforceTACTICAL was the first product in the world to deliver extensible, secure, and scalable body worn sensor fusion. Combined with location services, AI to the edge, PTT, live streaming video, plus unparallel extensibility, our patented edge compute application platform has proven to be the ultimate adaptive "Swiss Army Knife" for mission critical operations where situational awareness is more than just a dot on a map. While...
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It is most assuredly not our parent's world. We suddenly find ourselves in a new world where the pandemic and serious spikes in crime have implications to our critical infrastructure, our schools, our businesses, and our people. Cybersecurity remains a concern, but physical security in our personal and professional lives is now front and center. Recent attacks and attempted attacks internationally present a diverse and...
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Our nation’s stadiums, arenas, and concert venues host millions of people each year for special events. The majority of these venues will not contend with an extreme emergency during any given year. However, as we have seen in Las Vegas and more recently in Houston, consequences of extreme activity at these events, whether caused by human violence, natural disaster or another factor can be devastating...
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The complex environment of warfare and mass casualty incidents produces multiple environmental hazards that can harm personnel and prevent the accomplishment of military and public safety objectives. The renewed use of chemical weapons in Syria, contaminated water in military on continental United States (CONUS) bases, and a deadly fourth generation agent (FGA) employment in United Kingdom illustrate the continuing evolution of methods and hazards. The lack...
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Every day, our physical and digital worlds become increasingly intertwined, presenting huge opportunities for investments in a future of continuous and lasting change. This is true of Smart Cities, but also intelligent retail and smarter buildings. This digitalization of the cyber-physical world is especially promising for municipalities to uncover opportunities and overcome challenges specific to the ever present goal of creating "safer cities". Critical to...
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