Volume 24 Issue 2 {pdf} - Andrew John Publishing Inc

Maritime Interoperability 

Riding Along with Winnipeg's AIR1 

PUBLICATIONS AGREEMENT NUMBER 40025049 

Volume 24, Issue 2 | Spring 2011 | ISSN 1709-2574 

www.andrewjohnpublishing.com

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APCO Canada 

Board of 

Directors 

PRESIDENT 

GAVIN HAYES 

Halton Regional Police Service 

gavin.hayes@apco.ca 

VICE PRESIDENT 

RYAN LAWSON 

Operations Manager E-Comm 

Ryan.Lawson@apco.ca 

PAST PRESIDENT 

CURTIS BROCHU 

Public Safety Communications, 

Calgary 

curtis.brochu@apco.ca 

DIRECTOR 

THERESA VIRGIN 

Durham Regional Police Service 

M E S S A G E F R O M T H E E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F 

Here it is March 2011, where has the time gone. It has been some time since I 

have penned an editorial so here is the scoop. I had taken ill in May 2010 and 

have been recuperating since then. 

I certainly appreciate the effect of being off work for a long period of time. In one of 

my last editorials I spoke about retirement but this is worse – it is forced retirement! 

I didn’t have a choice about being off or not! 

It is a very strange position for one to be in. I was in charge of a 9-1-1 / police 

communications centre, I held a lot of responsibility and I was making daily 

decisions that would affect both the front-line communications and uniform 

members, and the citizens of my region. 

In the beginning of my confinement, I was too ill to worry about anything except 

getting better. Now that I am physically getting better – my mental well-being needs 

some TLC. I am still having difficulty with losing my identity. The advantage I have 

is that I am still a member of APCO, I still serve on the APCO Canada Board of 

Directors, and I am still the editor-in-chief of Wavelength. 

On that note, we are revamping Wavelength magazine. Each issue will just get better 

and better, but only with your help. Please submit those articles, pictures, and stories 

about your communications centre. Contact me if you see an article you would 

like reprinted in our magazine and we will try and get permission – 

theresa.virgin@apco.ca. 

I am very proud of this magazine and our membership should be proud of it too. 

The only way we can make it better is with your help. 

I would like to thank the current APCO Board of Directors and Past-President 

Maureen Schmidt. These folks worked even harder last year to make it easy for me 

to take some time off to heal. I really appreciate all the notes and e-mails from folks 

during my illness – it was very timely and aided in my convalescence. Thank you. 

theresa.virgin@apco.ca 

DIRECTOR 

CINDY KIRBY 

Communications Centre Manager 

Winnipeg Police Service 

cindy.kirby@apco.ca 

Theresa Virgin, 

Editor-in-Chief 

DIRECTOR 

CORINNE BEGG 

Dispatch Quality Improvement Coordinator, 

British Columbia, Ambulance Service 

corinne.begg@apco.ca 

DIRECTOR 

BART ROWLAND 

Deputy Fire Chief – 9-1-1 Emergency 

Communications, The City of Red Deer 

Bart.Rowland@apco.ca, 

www.apco.ca | Wavelength 3

M E S S A G E F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T 

Since my last message to you, the 

board has been very busy working on 

a number of initiatives that affect not 

only the association, but public safety 

communications on a national scale. 

In January the board travelled to 

Winnipeg to hold both its face-to-face 

meetings, and also to view potential 

venues for the 2012 APCO Canada 

Conference. The board is working very 

closely with Helms Briscoe for our hotel 

and meeting space procurement, and 

also with our contracted conference 

planner Details to ensure we are getting 

good value for the dollars we spend in 

hosting our national event. 

During our board meetings a great deal 

of time was spent working on our 

Strategic Plan and also looking at our 

association’s strengths, weaknesses, and 

opportunities. The board also set the 

budget for the upcoming fiscal year, 

which again involved a review of past 

expenses and potential income 

generation. I feel the board has set some 

very attainable goals for 2010, and has 

done it in a manner that demonstrates 

fiscal responsibility to you the members. 

As you are aware, a number of years ago 

APCO Canada sponsored a survey of its 

then membership in an attempt to 

ascertain what the key issues were. 

Coming out of that survey it was 

obvious that there was a deep interest in 

the creation of Canadian Standards for 

Public Safety Communications Centres 

and those who work there. With this in 

mind, APCO Canada released an RFP in 

2010 for professional companies to bid 

on. As a result of this RFP, Emergency 

Services Consulting International from 

Oregon was selected to do this work, 

and I am pleased to say they have just 

provided the board with a final revision. 

Realizing the dynamics involved with 

public safety at various levels of 

government within Canada, APCO 

Canada will soon be releasing a number 

of “Canadian Public Safety Communications 

Best Practices” that will assist 

those in our profession in the daily 

administration and operations of centres 

around the country. 

In the past months APCO Canada has 

been asked by Industry Canada to 

provide its opinion on an issue that is 

vitally important to the future of public 

safety communications within our 

country, this issue being the allocation 

of spectrum within 700 MHz exclusively 

for public safety broadband 

communication. In part of its response 

to Industry Canada, APCO Canada 

stated that: 

“APCO Canada believes that allocating 

dedicated 700 MHz spectrum directly 

to public safety is the only way to 

ensure robust, modern, and reliable 

public safety grade inter-operable 

networks. First responders and public 

safety providers must have the right 

tools to protect and save lives. 

This includes interoperable communications 

networks, Next Generation 

9-1-1 Systems and mobile computing 

power for emergency response officers 

that will enable real-time information 

sharing through high speed video and 

data. To effectively and consistently 

take advantage of these developments, 

there is a very real and immediate need 

for a dedicated band of spectrum that 

can accommodate the everyday needs 

of police officers, firefighters, and 

emergency medical personnel, as well 

as provide excess capacity during times 

of emergency. The soon to be available 

700 MHz block of spectrum provides 

this opportunity.” 

I continue to work with our global 

partners as the chair of the Global 

Alliance and in February attended the 

2011 APCO Australasia Conference in 

Melbourne, and will be attending the 

2011 British APCO Conference in 

London in April. The work on the 

inaugural APCO Global Congress in 

Dubai continues, and is shaping up to 

be a world-class event for those 

attending. There has also been 

significant interest from Qatar to host a 

2012 event and we are working with 

various organizations in that country to 

hopefully make this a reality. 

In closing, I again want to thank all of 

you for what you do to keep our 

communities safe and secure on a daily 

basis. Without your professionalism and 

dedication the citizens of the 

communities you serve would no doubt 

be placed in harm’s way. 

Gavin R. Hayes 

President, APCO 

Canada 

4 Wavelength | www.apco.ca

Volume 24, Issue 2 | April 2011 

Wavelength Editorial Board 

Editor-in-Chief 

Theresa Virgin theresa.virgin@apco.ca 

Technical Editor 

Glen Miller: glen.miller@telus.net 

Leadership/Supervision/Management Editors 

Ryan Lawson ryan.lawson@apco.ca 

Bart Rowland : bart.rowland@apco.ca 

Training Editor 

Cindy Kirby cindy.Kirby@apco.ca 

Front Line Editor 

Corinne Begg: Corinne.begg@apco.ca 

Celebration Editor 


Lessons Learned Editor 

Ryan Lawson: ryan.lawson@apco.ca 

Conference Editor 


Contributors 

Terry Canning | Paul Dixon | Judi Grout 

Gavin Hayes | Ryan Lawson | Sue Pivetta 

Michael Webb | Theresa Virgin 

Managing Editor 

Scott Bryant | scottbryant@andrewjohnpublishing.com 

Art Director/Design 

Andrea Brierley | abrierley@allegrahamilton.com 

Advertising 

John Birkby 

Ph 905-628-4309 | jbirkby@andrewjohnpublishing .com 

Sales & Circulation Coordinator 

Brenda Robinson | brobinson@andrewjohnpublishing.com 

Accounting 

Susan McClung 

Group Publisher 

John D. Birkby | jbirkby@andrewjohnpublishing.com 

Wavelength is published four times per year by Andrew 

John Publishing Inc. with offices at 115 King St. W, 

Dundas ON, Canada L9H 1V1. We welcome editorial 

submissions but cannot assume responsibility for 

commitment for unsolicited material. Any editorial 

materials, including photographs, that are accepted 

from an unsolicited contributor will become the 

property of Andrew John Publishing Inc. 

FEEDBACK: We welcome your views and comments. 

Please send them to Andrew John Publishing Inc., 

115 King St. W, Dundas ON, Canada L9H 1V1. 

Copyright 2011 by Andrew John Publishing. All rights 

reserved. Reprinting in whole or in part is forbidden 

without express written consent from the publisher. 

Publication Agreement Number 40025049 | ISSN1709-2574 

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: 

Contents 

10 

DEPARTMENTS 

3 MESSAGE FROM THE 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

Theresa Virgin ENP, Director APCO Canada 

4 MESSAGE FROM THE 

PRESIDENT 

Gavin R. Hayes 

6 PENCIL IT IN: 

Upcoming Events 

6 APCO CANADA NEWS 

MEET THE NEW APCO CANADA 

DIRECTORS 

FEATURES 

9 PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS 

INTEROPERABILITY AND 

BROADBAND SPECTRUM IN CANADA 

By Michael Webb 

12 

15 

18 

20 

WINNIPEG POLICE SERVICE - AIR1 

By Judi Grout 

MARITIME INTEROPERABILITY 

By Terry Canning 

EVALUATIONS: NECESSARY EVIL 

OR VALUABLE TOOL? 

By Sue Pivetta Professional Pride Training Co., Inc 

THE EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC SAFETY 

AND SOCIAL MEDIA 

By Paul Dixon 

9 

12 

20 

115 King St. W, Dundas ON, Canada L9H 1V1 


U P C O M I N G E V E N T S 

Pencil It In 

APCO Global Congress 

June 6-8, 2011 

InterContinental Dubai Festival 

City, United Arab Emirates 

APCO International 

August 7-12, 2011 

Philadelphia, PA 

APCO Canada’s Response to Industry 

Canada Regarding Public Safety 

Broadband Communications 

To: Tri-Services Special Purpose Committee on 700 MHz Broadband for Mission 

Critical Public Safety Data 

c/o: Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police 

582 Somerset Street West 

Ottawa, ON K1R 5K2 

Action700broadband@gmail.com 

APCO Canada 2011 

November 6-9, 2011 

Westin Ottawa, Ontario 

Canada 

Tri-Services Committee members: 

The Association of Public Safety 

Communication Officials (APCO) Canada 

is pleased to support your efforts to secure 

dedicated 700 MHz spectrum for public 

safety broadband, including strongly 

opposing any potential Industry Canada 

commercial auction of that portion of the 

spectrum. 

We believe that the use of broadband 

technology is crucial to the future of 

public safety across Canada and that the 

implementation and use of Broadband 

Systems within Public Safety will 

exponentially increase in the coming 

years. APCO Canada enthusiastically 

supports your Committee’ urging of 

Industry Canada to reallocate 8 MHz of 

spectrum (currently assigned to public 

safety but with unspecified use) to 

broadband use and allocate an additional 

12 MHz of adjacent spectrum to public 

safety for broadband use. This would result 

in 20 MHz being assigned for public safety 

broadband use and a total allocation to 

public safety of 36 MHz – 20 MHz for 

broadband and an existing 16 MHz for 

narrowband/wideband (i.e., voice and low 

speed data). 

We believe that allocating dedicated 700 

MHz spectrum directly to public safety is 

the only way to ensure robust, modern, 

and reliable public safety grade 

interoperable networks. First responders 

and public safety providers must have the 

right tools to protect and save lives. This 

includes interoperable communications 

networks, Next Generation 9-1-1 Systems 

and mobile computing power for 

emergency response officers that will 

enable real-time information sharing 

through high speed video and data. To 

effectively and consistently take advantage 

of these developments, there is a very real 

and immediate need for a dedicated band 

of spectrum that can accommodate the 

everyday needs of police officers, 

firefighters, and emergency medical 

personnel, as well as provide excess 

capacity during times of emergency. The 

soon to be available 700 MHz block of 

spectrum provides this opportunity. 

APCO Canada has had extensive 

involvement in this industry and is 

pleased to be working with like-minded 

public safety partners to ensure the voice 

of responders is considered during the 

current Industry Canada consultations on 

the 700 MHz band. We support your 

efforts to ensure this one time opportunity 

for public safety is not lost. 

Sincerely, 

Curtis Brochu, Immediate Past President 

APCO Canada 

c.c.: Industry Canada 

Office of the Honourable Tony Clement 

Minister of Industry 

C.D. Howe Building 

235 Queen Street 

Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H5 

Canada 

Tel : 613-995-9001 

Fax: 613-992-0302 

Email: minister.industry@ic.gc.ca 

Website: http://www.ic.gc.ca 


A P C O C A N A D A N E W S 

APCO Canada Supports Tema Conter Memorial Trust 

By Ryan Lawson, Vice-President APCO Canada 

On February 19th 2011, APCO 

Canada Director Theresa Virgin and 

APCO Canada Vice-President Ryan 

Lawson attended the 10th Anniversary 

Gala for the Tema Conter Memorial 

Trust. The Tema Conter Memorial Trust 

was established to end the silence and 

ease the suffering of emergency services 

personnel that witness traumatic events 

as part of their daily routine. In spite of 

this, these people continue to perform 

their essential duty of saving lives – often 

in the face of unspeakable tragedy. The 

charity was founded by Mr. Vince Savoia, 

an attending paramedic at the murder 

scene of Ms. Tema Conter in 1988. Upon 

coping with post-traumatic stress as a 

result of this horrible episode, Mr. Savoia 

created the Tema Conter Memorial Trust. 

The trusts’ purpose is two-fold: to honour 

the memory of Ms. Tema Conter and call 

attention to the psychological trauma 

encountered by emergency services and 

military personnel. These courageous and 

compassionate individuals are haunted 

by the scenes they encounter on a regular 

basis, and they need our help. APCO 

Canada sponsors this event in honour of 

our members, the police, fire, and 

paramedic communicators, who 

participate in these traumatic calls every 

day. This year, the APCO Canada Board 

of Directors voted to sponsor a full table 

at the dinner. Our invited guests included 

several first responders and Mr. Norm 

Hrapchuk (and his wife Wendy) from 

Harris Communications. The gala was 

spectacular, and was a great opportunity 

to further enhance the profile of your 

association within the realm of public 

safety, and network with our partners 

from across the country. The APCO 

Canada Board, on behalf of our 

membership, would like to congratulate 

the Tema Conter Memorial Trust on 10 

great years of education, service, and 

advocacy! 

Tema Conter Memorial Trust Scholarship 

The Tema Conter 

Memorial Trust 

Kathy Bremner Scholarship Awards 

are presented to 

the emergency services or military 

students who best discuss, in an essay or 

journal, the psychological stressors of 

acute, cumulative and post traumatic 

stress disorder and the effects that these 

stressors may have on their personal and 

professional lives. Each year, scholarships 

are made available to all emergency 

services and military students (including 

EMS, fire, police, and emergency 

communications students). Kathy’s essay 

about post-traumatic stress disorder was 

chosen as the winner for British 

Columbia and one of only six 2010 

scholarships awarded nationally. 

The Tema Conter Memorial Trust was 

created by Vince Savoia, who in 1988 was 

the Toronto paramedic called to the 

scene of Tema’s brutal murder. He was so 

The Public Safety Communications Program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University is pleased to 

announce that their student, Kathy Bremner, has been named as a scholarship recipient of 

the Tema Conter Memorial Trust at their annual awards ceremony held in Vaughan, Ontario 

in February 2011. 

moved by the incident that 13 years later 

he set up the memorial trust in her name 

as a scholarship fund to help other 

paramedics and create awareness for 

Critical Incident Stress. Information 

about the Tema Conter Memorial Trust 

Scholarship Awards can be found at 

http://www.tema.ca"www.tema.ca 

Kathy’s journey to this prestigious win is 

an interesting story in itself. Kathy was 

intrigued by a presentation about 

emergency communications by 

Kwantlen’s Tally Wade to her writers 

group last spring. This compelled her to 

apply as a student to the Public Safety 

Communications program, embarking 

on a career change following many years 

working in the horse racing industry. The 

2010/2011 program students were 

fortunate to work as volunteers for the 

APCO Canada Conference in Vancouver, 

BC last November. As fate would have it, 

Kathy was assigned duties at Vince 

Savoia’s presentation, and was 

immediately interested in the Tema 

Conter Memorial Trust, and the 

scholarship awards. The rest is history. As 

Kathy nears the end of her program at 

Kwantlen, she is looking forward to 

becoming a valuable member of the 

emergency communications field, with 

ambulance as her career goal. Good luck, 

Kathy. You are well on your way! 

Kwantlen Polytechnic University offers 

the one-year certificate Public Safety 

Communications Program, training 

students for careers in police, fire and 

emergency medical communications and 

related fields. For more information, visit: 

http://www.kwantlen.ca/pscm"www.kwa 

ntlen.ca/pscm. 


A P C O C A N A D A N E W S 

BC Ambulance Service Call Taker Assists Woman to Give 

Her Husband the Gift of Life 

called 9-1-1. Quickly recognizing the 

patient was in cardiac arrest, Ryan 

immediately sent the call to the 

dispatcher and with a calm and 

confident voice, started life-saving CPR 

instructions. Ryan and Ben’s wife 

continued to perform CPR until BC 

Ambulance Service (BCAS) paramedics 

arrived and carried on with his care while 

transporting him to the local hospital. 

Ryan Tierney had only been signed off 

for four months when he answered 

the call that would make the difference 

between life and death. 

After feeling unwell for several weeks, 

Ben Averback doubled over with extreme 

chest pain on October 17, 2010. As his 

wife , Tina Averback, was preparing to 

take him to the hospital, she heard Ben 

say he was going to pass out right before 

he collapsed on the bedroom floor. Tina 

jumped into action by shaking him to try 

to get a response but soon realized he was 

not breathing and did not have a pulse. 

After initiating chest compressions, Tina 

Statistics show that CPR instructions 

provided by Emergency Medical 

Dispatchers and Calltakers make a 

significant difference in patient survival. 

Today, more patients walk out of 

hospitals neurologically intact than ever 

before. 

BCAS recognized Tina in January 2011 

with a Vital Link award for her quick 

actions in saving her husband’s life by 

providing cardio pulmonary resuscitation 

(CPR) following his cardiac arrest. 

Submitted by BC Ambulance Service 

2011 APCO Canada Conference 

It seems like the 2010 APCO Canada 

Conference just ended and yet four 

months have already passed. We’re pleased 

to say the overall feedback from the 

conference held in Vancouver was very 

positive and consider it the minimum 

standard to plan for the 2011 Conference. 

The planning process is already well 

underway for the 2011 conference – being 

held at the Westin Ottawa. Early in the 

year, the Call for Presentations was sent 

out and promoted to solicit a variety of 

proposals and ensure a program packed 

full of quality educational sessions! 

The Tradeshow Prospectus was also 

developed and sent to our list of vendors. 

Our tradeshow is the largest in Canada for 

the public safety communications 

industy and we’re proud to provide a 

great showcase of new products and 

8 Wavelength | www.apco.ca 

technologies each year. 

Sponsors are a very big part of our 

conference and we’ve received incredible 

support in the past and it’s not any 

different this year. 

With the conference website up, regular 

E-Bulletins, and Wavelength magazine, it’s 

our intention to keep attendees as up to 

date as possible on the planning process 

and to educate those who’ve never been 

on just what the APCO Canada 

Conference is all about. 

This year, the conference is being held 

close to Rememberance Day and we 

encourage attendees to consider extending 

their stay in order to take advantage of 

the opportunity to take part in the 

ceremonies being held in our nation’s 

capital. 

For more information on the 2011 APCO Canada Conference, please visit our 

conference website at www.apcocanada-conference.ca and be sure to follow us on 

Twitter (APCOCanada) and Facebook (APCOCanada2010).

Public Safety 

Communications 

Interoperability 

and Broadband 

Spectrum in 

Canada 

By Michael Webb 

Communications interoperability refers to the 

ability of public safety agencies to talk across 

disciplines and jurisdictions via communications 

systems, exchanging voice and/or data with one 

another on demand, in real time, when needed, 

and as authorized. 

F E A T U R E 

In Canada and other countries, significant gaps exist in the capabilities 

of public safety personnel of all disciplines to communicate effectively, 

across services and jurisdictions during many emergency events. On 

January 26, 2011, the ministers responsible for emergency management 

approved the Communications Interoperability Strategy for Canada 

(CISC) 1 and the associated Action Plan in order to address this challenge. 

The CISC is the result of three years of work, beginning with the drafting 

of the Canadian Communications Intero-perability Plan (CCIP) in 2008 

by a working group of provincial officials and emergency response 

agencies at all levels of government. The CISC provides a high level 

roadmap and national governance framework for improving the interoperability 

of all types of public safety communications in Canada. 

The CISC identifies the following five strategic objectives to guide 

development of interoperability policies, programs and investments by 

all levels of government: 

• Governance: Establish a governance structure and coordination 

framework that respects jurisdictional authorities and is 

empowered, resourced, representative and accountable; 

• Standard Operating Procedures: Promote the development 

of integrated Standard Operating Procedures for communications; 

• Technology: Promote and support the development of national 

emergency communications systems based on common user 

requirements, open standards and a system-of-systems approach; 

• Training and Exercises: Enable and support comprehensive 

and integrated training and exercises for interoperable 

communications; and 

• Usage: Promote development and daily use of common 

processes, principles and tools by all emergency personnel. 

These objectives are aligned to the Canadian Communications Interoperability 

Continuum within the CISC, which is based on the SAFECOM 

Interoperability Continuum developed by the Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS) in the US. 2 

A specific objective within the CISC Action Plan is the establishment by 

all provinces and territories of “Intero-perability Coordinators” to oversee 

their interoperability initiatives, including ongoing participation in the 

national Federal/Provincial/Territorial (F/P/T) Interopera-bility Working 

Group being established. To date, several provinces, including British 

Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia have appointed interoperability 

coordinators. In BC’s case, this office will continue work on a variety of 

initiatives related to improving communications interoperability, including 

• Harmonization of shared voice radio channels across the province 

• Development of interoperable data systems to improve shared 

situational awareness 

• Establishment of regional and local governance structures; and 

• Strategic planning for future emergency communications 

capabilities in the province and across Canada 

One such strategic initiative involves working collaboratively at the F/P/T 

level with all stakeholders to coordinate responses to a recent 

consultation paper 3 issued by Industry Canada related to 700 MHz 

broadband spectrum (see APCO Canada’s statement on page 6). This 

consultation will directly impact public safety and public service agencies’ 

ability to utilize mission critical multimedia (video, data, image, 

mapping) services to support emergency response operations well into 

the future. 

Today, many public safety entities use commercial networks for their 


P U B L I C S A F E T Y C O M M U N I C A T I O N S I N T E R O P E R A B I L I T Y A N D B R O A D B A N D 

S P E C T R U M I N C A N A D A 

mobile data needs. However, commercial 

networks have significant limitations 

when used to support mission-critical 

applications. Public safety needs to secure 

20 MHz of dedicated 700 MHz broadband 

spectrum to minimize the risk of 

endangering responders and citizens due to 

failures in commercial networks, including 

network congestion in times of crisis and 

network outages due to infrastructure 

impacts in catastrophic events. 

The leaders of police, fire and EMS 

agencies across the country are joining 

together to develop a common position 

and response to Industry Canada on the 

issue. The CACP, the CAFC, and EMSCC 

have created the “Tri-Services Special 

Purpose Committee on 700 MHz 

Broadband for Mission Critical Public 

Safety Data” and are working with trusted 

partners, including F/P/T jurisdictions, to 

gain a better under-standing of the issue, 

raise awareness, inform stakeholders and 

identify needs and potential opportunities. 

Public safety across Canada is actively 

collaborating to ensure its voice is heard, 

as there are competing commercial 

interests. The 20 MHz of broadband 

spectrum required by public safety is an 

extremely valuable natural resource. The 

700 MHz consultation process is a once-ina-lifetime 

opportunity for allocation of 

spectrum to public safety that can greatly 

enhance community and responder safety, 

innovation and the health of Canada’s 

digital economy. 

In the US, a similar digital TV transition 

was accomplished on June 12, 2009. The 

US spectrum regulator, the FCC, has 

already dedicated 10 MHz to public safety 

and the White House has recently 

signalled it intends to allocate a second 10 

MHz block to public safety, rather than 

auction the spectrum for commercial use. 

Public safety in Canada is strongly urging 

Industry Canada to follow the US lead and 

harmonize the spectrum allocation. 

For more information please check the 

website site established by the Special 

Purpose Committee www.action700.ca – 

where a variety of resources on the issue 

can be found. 

References 

1. Public Safety Canada. 2011. 

Communications Interoperability 

Strategy for Canada. Ottawa: 

Author. Available at: 

http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg 

/em/cisc-eng.aspx. 

2. Department of Homeland Security. 

2011. Safecom Program. 

Washington, DC: Author. Available 

at: http://www.safecomprogram.gov/ 

SAFECOM/interoperability/ 

default.htm. 

3. Industry Canada. 2010. 

http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smtgst.nsf/eng/sf09947.html 

Consultation on a Policy and 

Technical Framework for the 

700 MHz Band and Aspects Related 

to Commercial Mobile Spectrum. 

Ottawa: Author. Available at: 

http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smtgst.nsf/eng/sf09947.html 

Michael Webb, PEng. is Manager of Telecommunications and Specialty Systems for Emergency Management BC, and is responsible a 

number of strategic initiatives related to emergency communications, including coordination and governance of communications 

interoperability and development of provincial emergency information management systems. 

Meet the New APCO Canada Directors 

Cindy Kirby 

Corinne Begg 

Cindy began her career in the 

Communications Division in 

Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1985. In 

1988 she took a position with 

Ports Canada Police at the Port of 

Halifax as the dispatcher/clerk. 

In 1990 when her husband was 

posted with the military to 

Winnipeg she began working 

with the Winnipeg Police Service 

first as a clerk, CPIC operator, and 

then communications as a call 

taker/dispatcher. Since commencing 

employment with the 

Winnipeg Police Service, Cindy 

Corinne began her career in 

EMS in early 1996 with the 

British Columbia Ambulance 

Service (BCAS) and transitioned 

into their communications center 

in 2002 where she's worked as an 

emergency medical dispatcher, a 

dispatch officer (supervisor), and 

currently as a dispatch quality 

has worked as a trainer, coach, 

supervisor and coaching coordinator. 

She pioneered the 

development of the communications 

division coaching 

program and communication 

center customer service training. 

In 2005 Cindy was promoted to 

manager of the communication 

center managing 100+ employees. 

She has worked diligently on 

recruiting practices, workflow 

management, identifying critical 

issues and implementing mandatory 

training programs. Her 

improvement coordinator. as 

well, she teaches emergency 

medical dispatch for the public 

safety Communications program 

at Kwantlen Polytechnic 

University and spends much of 

her spare time as an advocate for 

frontline personnel in 9-1-1 

communication center settings. 

main focus and philosophy is to 

develop and mentor her staff and 

provide opportunities to reach all 

of their potential. 

Cindy is married with two grown 

children and three dogs. Cindy 

and her husband Ed both love to 

ride motorcycles and take every 

opportunity to combine that love 

with travel, camping and fishing 

in Manitoba and beyond. 

Cindy can be reached at: 

cindy.kirby@apco.ca. 

Corinne was co-chair for the 2010 

APCO Canada conference 

organizing committee. 

Corinne and her husband Mike 

live in Vancouver with two of 

their four children. 


Founding Platinum Sponsor: or: Silver Sponsor: Bronze Sponsors: 

Endorsing ng Sponsors: 

6-8 June 2011 

InterContinental Dubai Festival City 

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APCOglobalcongress.org 

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An International Showcase 

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Exhibitors from around the globe are heading to the Gulf region to showcase groundbreaking technologies 

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e 

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on a daily basis. Attendees will explore new resources and participate ate in dynamic educational sessions, 

hand-selected ected by a qualified team of top ranking public safety professionals. 

Check 

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F E A T U R E 

Winnipeg Police Service 

AIR1 

By Judi Grout 

Line Pilot Renee Brindeau, TFO Noel Matyas, PCO Judi Grout 

Dispatchers are the first group that will get ride-a-longs? We sat back in disbelief as we listened to the 

speaker at our training day explain that when the police helicopter came into operation, they would be 

taking dispatchers up first. When were dispatchers ever at the top of any list? 

Dispatchers are the first group that 

will get ride-a-longs? We sat back in 

disbelief as we listened to the speaker at 

our training day explain that when the 

police helicopter came into operation, 

they would be taking dispatchers up first. 

When were dispatchers ever at the top of 

any list? 

We became an attentive audience as the 

committee promoting Winnipeg Police 

Service’s first police helicopter gave their 

video presentation which included 

actual film footage of daring helicopter 

assisted police arrests from Calgary and 

Edmonton. Sorry, but I wasn’t convinced 

that the money spent on the actual 

helicopter, the training of the crew and 

pilots, and the general maintenance and 

running of this piece of equipment was 

going to be money well spent. Our 

dispatchable resources were already 

stretched to the limit and I kept thinking 

that we could instead use the money to 

put more general patrol officers out into 

the street. Our burgeoning queue for calls 

for service in Winnipeg continued to 

grow with violent crime on the rise. My 

feelings were kept to myself as I listened 

to the collective ooohs and ahhs from my 

fellow employees who were mesmerized 

by the many examples of heroic 

helicopter stories. To me it was all 

sensationalism and I was not convinced. 

That all changed abruptly when I was 

fortunate enough to be one of the first 

dispatchers to have a ride-along with 

WPS Air1. I was immediately impressed 

by the professionalism of the team 

comprised of pilots and TFOs (tactical 

flight officers) who had all worked long 

and hard on this project and had a 

personal vested interest in its success. 

You could just feel the enthusiasm 

vibrating in the hangar. They explained 

humbly that they felt privileged to be 

operating such an expensive and 

sophisticated piece of equipment and 

that they were dedicated to using it to its 

full potential. Their vision included 

reducing response times to major events, 

increasing public and officer safety, and 

the successful apprehension of criminals. 

That can’t happen without the 

communications division being an 

educated partner with them. They can 

only be as good as the information they 

get and how fast they get it. They made 

dispatchers feel part of it all and an 

integral piece of its success. As I boarded 

the helicopter, buckled my three-point 

seat belt and donned my headset, I felt 

transported into a new world of policing 

with unlimited possibilities. 

It certainly is one thing to read about the 

FLIR or forward-looking infra red camera 

and another to actually have a hands-on 

experience with it. This thermal image 

camera is attached to a GPS mapping 

system which allows the camera to 

immediately zoom into a specific address 

two or three kilometres away so you can 

have a visual on a crime scene while you 

are enroute! You could actually see 

fleeing suspects or vehicles before you 

even get there! We were just backing up 

the tactical units while they did a curfew 

check on an address where they expected 

the subject to flee as he was wanted for 

questioning on another offence. Arriving 

almost immediately, I was amazed how 

my city just flew by me as we can travel 

about 3.3 km in 60 seconds. To actually 

visually see a specific address on the FLIR 

and then look out the window and get 

your bearings and then make tight orbits 

around the address while you watch the 

cruisers arrive and surround the house 

was amazing! Once clear of that address 

we were required to travel several miles 

across the city to assist a cruiser doing a 

high-risk traffic stop on a darkened street 

near the waterfront. Quickly arriving, 

looking out the window and seeing the 

cruiser with the suspect vehicle in front 

of them, commencing our orbiting, 

watching the FLIR and then having the 

pilot activate the NIGHTSUN, illustrated 

to me just how reliable AIR1 could be for 

ensuring officer safety in situations like 

this. Now the traffic stop could be 

performed with the NIGHTSUN`S 30 

million candle power capability 

illuminating the entire street and the 

gentle hum of the police helicopter 

making tight orbits over the event. 


G R O U T 

My hour in the sky was over quickly. I 

came away with a new sense of what the 

helicopter can do for all of us in the 

service. As well, my respect grew for the 

incredibly tasking job a TFO must 

perform. They are monitoring all three 

regular police dispatch channels, as well 

as plain-clothes channels, communicating 

with the pilot who is also 

monitoring the air traffic control tower, 

operating the FLIR and GPS mapping and 

deciding which calls to attend. Their 

training is extensive and usually only two 

or three candidates are successful in a 

class of 35. These people are our elite! 

They could probably even qualify as 

police dispatchers! 

Since this experience I have been 

fortunate enough to be dispatching 

when AIR1 became involved in a highrisk 

traffic pursuit which they were able 

to take over. They placed the other 

general patrol units on a long follow 

mode so the suspect thought they had 

lost the police. The speeds and threat to 

officer and public safety decreased and 

apprehension of the suspect went 

smoothly because AIR1 advised of the 

location where the suspect dumped the 

vehicle and then used the FLIR to follow 

the fleeing suspect until Canine arrived 

and tracked him to his location hiding in 

a backyard! Everyone will soon realize 

that the police helicopter is in the unique 

position to be the best qualified unit to 

direct and supervise major events. 

Dispatchers and regular units have only 

our mapping system and what we see in 

front of us. AIR1 has an enhanced eye in 

the sky and may be in a better position 

to direct units for points when tracking 

or other perimeters. 

My duties as a dispatcher for a police 

helicopter became more understandable 

after having this experience. How fast we 

get the information out to AIR1 is critical 

for their continued success. We cannot 

expect that they are going to hear 

everything that is going on in the city. If 

you as a dispatcher can see that their 

assistance would bring about a safer 

resolution to a call, you need to call them 

immediately! Descriptions and directions 

of travel become urgent because their 

response time can be very quick 

thus increasing the likelihood of 

apprehension of suspects. Witnessing 

firsthand how fast they can respond and 

how accurate their equipment is, made it 

all more real for me. 

I want to thank AIR1 for making the 

education of dispatchers so important. 

How skilled we become at utilizing their 

amazing potential will determine the 

future of this incredible piece of 

equipment and the team that supports it. 

Looking forward to an amazing summer! 

Photo courtesy of the Winnipeg Police Service. 


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F E A T U R E 

Maritime Interoperability 

Three Canadian Provinces Join Forces to 

Procure a Regional Project 25 (P25) Public 

Safety Network 

By Terry Canning 

In 1976, Nova Scotia, Canada, experienced a major forest fire lasting several days and 

destroying more than 33,000 acres of woodland and untold numbers of wildlife. There was 

no communications operability in this rural woodland area let alone interoperability; 

however, this event was the catalyst to push the province to develop and implement a 

province-wide, multiagency radio system. 

The Nova Scotia Integrated Mobile 

Radio System (NSIMRS) was a 

conventional VHF network with six 

agency-discreet repeaters on each of 24 

primary sites with microwave backhaul to 

a central switch where an operator could 

patch any two of the networks together 

— although it was rarely done. Users were 

able to use dual tone multifrequency 

(DTMF) keypads to dial from one repeater 

to any other within the network and to 

the central operator for a cross-agency 

patch. 

Agency repeaters were allocated to police 

services, ambulance services, fire services, 

the province’s departments of natural 

resources and transportation, and a 

general public-service network that 

included the Office of Emergency 

Management, public works, ground 

search and rescue, and school buses. 

Several agencies, notably the Royal 

Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), added 

spur sites to improve coverage in specific 

areas of interest, and these repeaters were 

linked to the closest primary site for 

backhaul purposes. Aspects of the legacy 

NSIMRS continue to support volunteer 

fire services and ground search-and-rescue 

teams particularly for VHF tone-voice 

paging purposes. 

By the mid-1990s, issues with the NSIMRS 

microwave backhaul hops were surfacing, 

and the six discreet networks provided 

insufficient capacity for the higher-use 

agencies, particularly police and 

ambulance services. The 1998 Swiss Air 

111 crash off the coast of Nova Scotia was 

a motivator to implement the nextgeneration 

provincial radio system — an 

800 MHz Motorola SmartZone trunked 

system on 68 sites with backhaul on the 

Bell Aliant fiber-optic network. 

Three Canadian provinces join forces to 

procure a regional Project 25 (P25) publicsafety 

network. This system is owned and 

operated by the telephone company — 

the province is the anchor tenant — and 

includes numerous municipal and federal 

agencies that contracted directly with Bell 

Aliant for service. System capacity varies 

from site to site with a minimum of three 

voice paths and a maximum of 13 based 

on anticipated traffic and adjusted for 

actual system loading. 

Upgrade Decision 

The contract between the province and 

Bell Aliant is scheduled to expire in May. 

So in 2006, the province had to decide 

whether to sign a contract extension or 

go to the market for a next-generation 

system. The latter choice was made. To 

give the province time to procure a new 

system, the contract was extended with 

better terms and conditions for two to 

five years as required with a six-month 

termination notice. Almost concurrently 

with Nova Scotia’s decision to upgrade, 

the neighboring province of New 

Brunswick issued a request for proposals 

(RFP) for a trunking replacement of its 

conventional mixed VHF/UHF networks. 

The single proposal in response to New 

Brunswick’s request wasn’t accepted, 

forcing the province to return to the 

drawing board. Simultaneously, the 

province of Prince Edward Island 

recognized that its public-safety 

communications network was inadequate 

for the demands of the 21st century and 

needed improved coverage and capability. 

The RCMP holds provincial policing 

contracts in all three provinces with 

members frequently crossing provincial 

boundaries. The RCMP’s regional 

administrative arm helped orchestrate a 

meeting of officials where the possibility 

of a single regionwide public-safety radio 

system was discussed. There was sufficient 

interest in this approach; the responsible 

deputy ministers agreed to strike a 

working group of director-level personnel 


M A R I T I M E I N T E R O P E R A B I L I T Y 

from each province to flesh out the 

concept to a memorandum of 

understanding (MoU). 

The Maritime Radio Communications 

Initiative (MRCI) was officially launched 

in August 2008 and work began in earnest 

to develop a joint RFP for a Maritimewide 

public-safety/public-service radio 

network using the recently designated 

700 MHz public-safety spectrum and the 

Project 25 (P25) standard for public-safety 

radio systems. An early consultation with 

the vendor community suggested that 

rather than a single three-province radio 

system, there were advantages to three 

identical radio systems with the 

controllers linked by the successful 

system vendor to provide seamless 

roaming for selected radios across the 

entire region or as much of it as required. 

The province of Nova Scotia had staff and 

a procurement consultant already 

employed developing its RFP, while New 

Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had 

project leads designated. The MRCI 

working group agreed to contract with an 

expert procurement firm to pull together 

the stated objectives of each province and 

develop a single RFP that would result in 

the acquisition of the desired compatible 

radio systems. Through an opportunity 

presented by the Canadian 

Interoperability Technology Interest 

Group (CITIG), financial assistance was 

sought and provided by the Canadian 

Police Research Centre (CPRC) to offset 

some consultant costs. It’s anticipated 

that the joint procurement will result in 

volume purchasing discounts, as well as 

the full regional interoperability desired. 

The rest of the networks will be funded 

with a public/ private partnership with 

the selected vendor consortium to 

finance, build and maintain for 15 years, 

moving the capital cost off the provincial 

books and leaving the provinces with an 

annual operating cost. 

The MRCI is making final adjustments to 

the RFP in response to a prerelease vendor 

consultation period held in February. The 

vendors were provided with a draft 

version of the RFP and a proposed 

schedule for final version release, 

response development, response 

evaluation and contract negotiation. The 

vendor community response provided 

substantial insight into the concerns of 

the various likely proponents. One of the 

biggest concerns expressed was related to 

the terms and conditions of the contract 

to which the successful proponent would 

be expected to agree. The MRCI had 

suggested that the pro-forma contract 

draft be released just prior to the closing 

of the RFP because it hasn’t been fully 

developed. Almost universally, however, 

the vendors said that knowing the terms 

and conditions of the anticipated 

contract were as important to their 

official responses as the technical aspects. 

Another major concern from the vendors 

was the uncertainty around the official 

agent(s) with whom they were expected 

to contract and work. An idea being 

considered is development of a special 

purpose vehicle or crown agency that 

would be constituted by delegates of the 

three provinces to act as the contracting 

party. This agency would be empowered 

to represent the interests of the provinces 

in any negotiations and provide a single 

point of contact for the successful vendor. 

The ultimate governance model of the 

MRCS has yet to be developed; however, 

it is anticipated that there will be an 

administrative branch and an operational 

branch. The administrative branch would 

focus on contractual and financial issues 

and service level agreements (SLAs), while 

the operational branch would deal more 

with interoperability, site capacity, and 

roaming opportunities and limitations. 

Beyond the RFP 

The Nova Scotia team anticipates a major 

piece of work will be the effort required to 

develop user-friendly, intuitive and 

effective radio fleet maps and appropriate 

access to the various provincial, 

municipal and federal agency consoles. 

This work will be required regardless of 

which vendor is successful and is 

expected to begin in Nova Scotia plans to 

encourage the full migration of 

operations to 700 MHz. The biggest 

challenge will be ensuring the 

essential intra-agency communications, 

recognizing the geographic size of the 

three provinces and the nonaligned 

regional structure of their respective user 

departments. Another challenge is 

concurrently recognizing and accommodating 

the necessity of interoperability 

across agencies and between jurisdictions, 

when and where required and as 

authorized. 

For example, there will be about 84 tower 

sites in Nova Scotia, approximately 12 in 

Prince Edward Island and more than 

100 in New Brunswick. Along the 

Northumberland Strait and the Bay of 

Fundy it’s expected that radios will be 

able to see repeater sites on the opposite 

side of the separating water body in the 

neighboring province. The arrangements 

for permitting or disallowing roaming 

between the home and neighboring 

systems across the water have to be 

carefully planned to take advantage of the 

coverage offered while not unreasonably 

overloading the neighboring system 

repeaters. Another critical piece of work, 

yet to be fully explored, is the initial and 

ongoing user training required to make 

the MRCS successful. Nova Scotia has had 

a full-time user trainer since late 2002, 

and province officials anticipate there will 

be a continuing need for this resource 

and several more during the system 

implementation. 

All three provinces rely heavily on 

volunteer fire services, and they rely on 

VHF tone-voice paging for notification of 

a need for their services. Each province 

has legacy VHF infrastructure in place, 

and all of the volunteer fire services have 

a significant investment in tone-voice 

pagers that can’t be replaced without 

substantial injection of capital funds. 

Each province is working with its own fire 

service representative body — New 

Brunswick Association of Fire Chiefs, 

Prince Edward Island Firefighters 

Association and Fire Service Association 

of Nova Scotia — to determine how best 

to leverage the capabilities of the nextgeneration 

radio system to ensure 

ongoing reliable and thorough VHF 

paging coverage, recognizing that the 

pagers are analog and CTCSS tone 

activated. The Nova Scotia volunteer fire 

service is operating primarily using analog 

VHF radios with two- or three-seeded 

trunked radios loaned to each volunteer 

department to enable interoperability 

with other response agencies. The future 

plan is to encourage full migration of 


C A N N I N G 

operations to 700 MHz with the rest of 

the province, but this will be determined 

by the ability to find funds to replace VHF 

radios rather than by any other driver. 

Fire services in Prince Edward Island are 

being encouraged to fully migrate to 700 

MHz, while New Brunswick fire services 

are planning to remain fully on VHF with 

interoperability with other agencies 

accomplished through console patches. 

While the ultimate MRCS will be a model 

of interoperability and cooperation 

that may well be the envy of the 

country, there are also interoperability 

relationships yet to be considered and 

developed with jurisdictions outside the 

three Canadian Maritime provinces. The 

province of New Brunswick shares 

significant length borders with the U.S. 

state of Maine and the province of 

Quebec, and cross-border communications 

with these neighbors will be 

desirable for some agencies, probably 

using the Inter Subsystem Interface (ISSI) 

feature of the P25 standard. The 

upcoming three to four years will witness 

a Herculean effort on the part of the 

implementation teams; however, the 

successful rollout will serve the user 

community effectively for many years 

going forward with periodic refreshment 

of user equipment and ongoing 

maintenance of system software and 

firmware, along with continuous training 

and multiagency user exercises. 

Reprinted with permission from Mission 

Critical Communications. 

Terry Canning is the emergency communications coordinator for public safety and field communications (PSFC) in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. 

He is responsible for facilitating and training for interagency radio communications during emergency incidents and planned multiagency 

events. Canning has been an active volunteer fire fighter since 1980, has served terms as training officer and captain, and has been the deputy 

fire chief since 1998 in Brookfield, Nova Scotia. Canning joined the trunked mobile radio system (TMRS) implementation team in 2000 as a 

consultant supporting the volunteer public-safety community, developing radio configurations and coordinating installation and delivery of 

about 1,000 loaned trunked radios and training. E-mail comments to canningt@gov.ns.ca. 


TM REA SI SN AE GR ’ E S FCR O RM N TE HR 

E E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F 

Evaluations: 

Necessary Evil or 

Valuable Tool? 

By Sue Pivetta Professional Pride Training Co., Inc 

Take a moment to reflect on your last evaluation; warm fuzzy 

or cold prickly? Did you give or receive a valuable insight into 

your workplace needs? Was the last evaluation you provided 

to someone an essential two-way dialogue based on a true 

assessment of the person’s capacity to carry out the promise of 

the work? Have you been involved in evaluation processes 

marked ‘needs improvement.’ Ever participated in an 

“evaluation bashing” event. This article explores the not so 

secret ongoing and seemingly never ending discomfort with 

evaluation systems and forms. 

Why Are Evaluations So Difficult? 

As you read through this paragraph allow 

yourself to nod in agreement. Evaluations 

can be challenging if the form is too 

complicated or not understood. Often 

raters are uncomfortable with their role 

evaluating others they have not had the 

time to properly assess. Ratings can 

depend upon who is rating whom; 

therefore evaluations collectively lose 

their validity with the employees. Most of 

us dread giving others bad news and view 

any “needs improvement” area as such. 

Most evaluators are not trained and wing 

it. And, most importantly, if the historical 

perceptions of evaluations are negative or 

perceived as a non-entity - evaluations 

can actually be damaging. Consider this 

list. 

7 Instances when Formal Evaluations 

Become Destructive 

1. When not timely or CONSISTENT 

2. When perceived as a GOTCHA 

3. When not used with a measuring 

TOOL 

4. When not BELIEVED 

5. When not consistent with PRIOR 

FEEDBACK 

6. When viewed as Wasted MOTION 

7. When NOT given by a COMPETENT 

SOURCE (can be a perception not a 

reality) 

Why Evaluate Your Evaluations? 

Without good evaluations systems your 

agency has NO idea what is happening 

compared to what is supposed to happen 

with individuals, shifts, and the entire 

agency. Good evaluation processes and 

forms provide responsible supervision 

and direction. Evaluations provide 

documentation of the agency’s 

accountability to manage the center 

responsibly. Regular effective evaluations 

improve communications and morale. 

Through evaluations, the agency can look 

for common themes and if found can set 

goals for organizational training at all 

levels. And most importantly taking the 

TIME to compile and process the 

information from the evaluations can be 

a pro-active noticing of potentially 

dangerous practices, methods, and habits 

before they become a problem. 

18 Wavelength | www.apco.ca 

Additional Hidden Benefits 

This is one of the few times that an 

employee and supervisor get to talk about

P I V E T T A 

the current reality of their work. This 

time offers much needed personal 

attention. People want to know how 

they are doing. A good evaluation offers 

no surprises to a telecommunicator, but 

does allow for a re-group. It is a chance 

to have a positive discussion about the 

future, purge the past and get a realistic 

assessment from an expert regarding 

work. This is a chance to praise an 

employee and provide positive feedback 

and motivate and inspire. 

Burnout can be cause by lack of rewards 

for hard work. Supervisors must view 

evaluation time as a core responsibility as 

well as an opportunity. The employee 

can discuss future development, needs, 

and plans for career growth. This is an 

opportunity to get to know the employee 

better and create an atmosphere of 

valuing and trust. Again, this is much 

needed. 

In the event core duties, 

responsibilities, tasks and expected 

work standards are not being met – 

this time is the time for notification, 

goal-setting, monitoring….a chance 

to improve. This is not delivering 

bad news; the bad news would be 

scheduling a deposition when a 

foreseeable improper action resulted 

in a lawsuit. 

Evaluation Bashing 

Where an opinion is general, it is 

usually correct. 

Jane Austen 

Begin with yourself. Do a status check! 

Do YOU recognize the evaluation process 

and form as critical for liability, 

motivation, morale, quality assurance, 

training, re-training, promotion, 

management – the list goes on. Next, 

does your evaluation process and form 

accomplish this? Next, find out if others 

in your agency agree or disagree with 

you. You could use a simple multiple 

choice survey offered from a positive 

perspective. 

TELECOMMUNICATORS (COULD BE 

ANONYMOUS) 

• Our formal evaluations are very 

valuable to the quality of my work 

life. 

• I was given adequate time and 

attention in my last evaluation. 

• Actual examples of my work were 

presented at my last evaluation. 

• Most of my peers feel the evaluation 

process and form are realistic and 

helpful. 

• My evaluation was valid and useful 

as far as planning for my training 

needs. 

• My supervisor was understood and 

was helpful in dealing with my 

stressors. 

SUPERVISORS (NOT ANONYMOUS) 

• I have adequate time to prepare for 

evaluations. 

• I review extensive work samples for 

each individual I am rating. 

• I have a clear understanding of our 

form and ratings. 

• I was able to explore each 

individuals stress level and needs 

during the evaluation time. 

• Supervisors are all in agreement on 

the ratings given to individuals. 

• Our evaluations are valid and useful 

as far as quality control, motivation, 

learning, and planning for training 

needs for individuals and the 

agency. 

Conclusion 

Solid, reliable and highly regarded 

evaluation processes and forms are 

invaluable. Directors, supervisors, and 

trainers can rest easier knowing that what 

is happening on the phones and radio 

can be confidently compared to what is 

supposed to happen with individuals, 

shifts, and the entire agency. Training 

budgets can be spent exactly where 

needed when actual needs are exposed 

through a skilful assessment of the 

knowledge, skills and attitude of the 

individuals doing the work. Beyond the 

obvious benefits of monitoring the 

work and protecting from liability there 

is more. Most important is that 

conscientious evaluations show care and 

concern for telecommunicator needs as 

we continue to search for ways to value 

and express our appreciation for our 

everyday heroes. 

Sue Pivetta is the President of 911 Professional Pride, Inc. Sue has worked in the industry as a Supervisor, college trainer, expert 

witness, consultant and workshop presenter. She has worked with NENA EAB and on Best Practices. Sue has authored The 911 

Puzzle, The Exceptional Trainer, and many other books, videos, training games and created the StarZ simulator. 911 Reality Training 

Station is due to be released this year. Sue Pivetta can be contacted at 1.253.891.9084 or www.911trainer.com 


F E A T U R E 

The Evolution of 

Public Safety and Social Media 

By Paul Dixon 

Two centuries ago, the Battle of New Orleans, immortalized in song by Johnny Horton, was 

fought two weeks after the Treaty of Ghent was signed between Great Britain and the United 

States, ending the War of 1812. It was the end of February, 1815 before news of the peace 

accord reached all fronts and the war was actually over. That was the speed of 

communications at the time. 

Evolution of the steam engine as the 

industrial revolution flourished 

created a need for more information. 

Morse made the telegraph practical 

method of communications in 1847 and 

Bell introduced the telephone 30 years 

later, but it was Marconi’s leap to 

wireless telephony that literally made 

the sky the limit in the 20th century. 

9-1-1 entered a world of wire-line 

telephones, providing a reliable solution 

to a restricted environment. However, 

in the 1970s, as 9-1-1 service was 

increasing across North America, its 

biggest challenge had already been 

created, but had yet to find a market. 

That was the cellphone, developed by 

Martin Cooper’s team at Motorola. 

However, this new device would have to 

wait until battery technology caught up 

20 years later for it to find widespread 

commercial success. By the same time 

the cellphone did morph from curiosity 

to commonplace, the Internet moved 

out of the realm of academia and the 

military into the mainstream. 

Like chocolate and peanut butter, 

wireless communications and the 

Internet are a pairing to be reckoned 

with. Surviving Y2K, 9-1-1 services were 

definitely feeling the pressure in 

responding to public expectations. The 

legacy phone companies were struggling 

to keep afloat in a world that was 

changing around them at a rapidly 

increasing pace. Thirty years ago, the 

North American phone system was 

predicated on the average phone call 

lasting three minutes. First generation 

public Internet access, via dial-up 

modem, blew that model out of the 

water. The three minute average became 

the three hour average, virtually 

overnight. 

The phone companies struggled to keep 

up by building out their networks. Fibreoptics 

offered incredible capacity 

compared to copper. Then Voice-over- 

Internet Protocol (VOIP) came along, 

offering something almost for nothing. 

Actually, there was something for 

nothing in the telephone over Internet 

market – Skype. Introduce Wi-Fi 

hotspots and next generation cell 

phones that could act as wireless servers, 

which then begat the latest generation 

of iPhone, Android, BlackBerry et al 

under the new heading of “smart” 

phone. 

This is just the technology. With 

apologies to Marshall McLuhan, it may 

well be that the medium is throttling 


D I X O N 

the message. Social media such as 

Facebook and Twitter allow for such a 

torrent of information to be spewed 

forth that there is little time to measure 

quality versus quantity. It is also 

changing the public perception of 

communication at its core tenets. 

Communication in terms of a focused 

message delivered to a specific audience, 

has become an exercise in pumping out 

as much dialogue about everything, 

often with little apparent focus. 

There is hope, as evidenced by recent 

popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt 

(as only two examples) that were largely 

fuelled by information spread via 

Facebook and Twitter within those 

countries and as a means exporting 

information from behind closed borders 

to the world media. 

Twitter, Facebook, and other social 

networking sites became an invaluable 

tool for millions of people around the 

world in the aftermath of the March 

11th Japanese earthquake and 

subsequent tsunami. Landline and 

cellular phone carriers experienced 

physical destruction in the worst hit 

regions and severe call-flooding across 

all networks, leading providers to 

institute call-throttling to prevent a total 

failure in the hours following the 8.9 

scale earthquake. Yahoo Japan provided 

almost instantaneous information after 

each aftershock, posting the location 

and strength less than a minute after 

impact. 

For many, Twitter and Facebook, became 

the quickest and most reliable way of 

keeping in touch with relatives as well 

as providing emergency numbers and 

information to those in stricken areas. 

Even the US State Department resorted 

to using Twitter to publish emergency 

numbers, and informing Japanese 

residents in America how to contact 

families back in Asia. Skype, the Internet 

phone service and Google, the 

information website, became invaluable 

resources for those searching for missing 

relatives. 

People in Tokyo were unable to contact 

friends and relatives within the city, but 

yet many were able to converse with 

people in Europe and North America 

through a variety of social media and 

Skype. Video captured on cell phones 

was sent around the world on Facebook, 

allowing mainstream media organizations 

to re-broadcast it to the world only 

minutes after the event. 

The Family Links website of the 

International Red Cross, which helps 

track people during an emergency, was 

initially overwhelmed by the response 

generated by the situation in Japan. 

Within hours Google launched a version 

of its person finder tool specifically for 

the earthquake, Person Finder: 2011 

Japan Earthquake. Offered in both 


T H E E V O L U T I O N O F P U B L I C S A F E T Y A N D S O C I A L M E D I A 

Japanese and English web sites, the tool 

has a link for people seeking 

information about friends and loved 

ones in areas affected by the quake and 

tsunami and it had another link for 

people wanting to post information 

about individuals. Three days after the 

earthquake, more than 150,000 records 

had been posted to the site and after 

seven days the number had grown to 

more than 330,000 unique entries. 

In a 2010 online survey of more than 

1,000 people conducted for the 

American Red Cross respondents 

indicated that if they needed help and 

could not access 9-1-1, one in five would 

try to contact emergency responders via 

digital means such as e-mail, websites or 

social media. 44% said that if they knew 

of someone needing help, they would 

ask other people in their social network 

to contact authorities, and 35% said 

they would post a request directly on an 

agency’s Facebook page and a further 

28% would send a direct Twitter 

message to responders. 

The Red Cross survey also found that 

social media users have very clear 

expectations of how emergency 

responders should be answering their 

requests. More than two-thirds of 

respondents felt that emergency 

response agencies should be monitoring 

social media in order to quickly respond 

to incidents and more importantly, 

more than half of these respondents 

believe that this is presently the case. 

Three-quarters of respondents indicated 

they would expect an “immediate” or 

“quick” response to Twitter or Facebook 

notifications. 

Many police agencies in North America 

promote their Facebook and Twitter 

presence, though largely as a one-way 

communications tool; sending 

information out – Crimestoppers 

information, Blockwatch bulletins. 

Several police departments in the US 

broadcast stolen vehicle information via 

Twitter accounts. In Seattle, Washington 

it’s @getyourcarback – basic vehicle 

descriptors and license with the added 

comment *** DO NOT CONTACT CALL 

911 ***. 

In Kolkata, India, police will accept 

traffic complaints via their Facebook 

account. As of February, 2011, 4,000 

people had signed up (out of a 

population in excess of 15 million). In 

Australia, Victoria State Police near 

Melbourne served a no-contact order via 

Facebook. The subject in question had 

been threatening and harassing his ex 

via Facebook. When police were unable 

to physically locate the man, an order 

was obtained in court with a stipulation 

by the magistrate that the order would 

be served on the subject via Facebook. 

The order was posted to his Facebook 

account, with a video of a police officer 

reading the order. 

In 2009, two young girls trapped in a 

storm sewer after a flash flood in 

Adelaide, Australia, decided not to use 

their cellphone to call authorities, but 

rather to update their status on 

Facebook. Luckily, a friend realized their 

predicament and summoned assistance 

the old-fashioned way. A spokesman for 

the local fire brigade, remarked, with 

remarkable aplomb, that “It is a 

worrying development. Young people 

should realize it’s better to contact us 

directly [than to rely on social media].” 

The Red Cross survey demonstrates that 

there is a growing demographic that will 

have a very different expectation of the 

reaction they receive from emergency 

response agencies, whether dealing 

with the day to day events in their 

community or the once in a lifetime 

events that capture the world’s 

attention. While the amount of information 

being streamed through the 

various social media pipelines in the 

days following the Japanese earthquake 

is staggering simply for the numbers, the 

question that will have to be answered 

at some point in the future is just how 

effective was it all? 

An ad hoc Facebook group with more 

than 10,000 followers caused great 

consternation with police and civic 

officials by promoting flash celebration 

for Vancouver’s downtown entertainment 

district on a Saturday night in 

February this year to mark the one-year 

anniversary of Canada’s Olympic gold 

medal hockey victory. The party mob 

failed to materialize for a very oldfashioned 

and decidedly low-tech 

reason. It rained. 

In the future, how will social media be 

used as a more effective two-way 

communications tool? Time will tell. 


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Volume 24 Issue 2 {pdf} - Andrew John Publishing Inc

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