NCJ Number
216491
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 33 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2006 Pages: 76,78,81
Date Published
November 2006
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article discusses how new forms of information collection and image recording by the private sector can be relayed to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), which can then be given to first responders en route to an incident.
Abstract
Suppose that the witness to a crime in progress uses his/her camera phone to take a pictures of the incident and the perpetrator; or information from a telematics device in a car involved in an accident transmits to the telematics provider whether airbags were deployed, how fast the car was going, and whether there was a passenger in the front seat. In another scenario, a speech-impaired person is robbed on the street, and the victim has a BlackBerry that can present a text-message report of the crime. How can the information recorded or collected by such devices be transmitted to a PSAP for use by emergency first responders? Vendors have been working with leaders in the public safety industry to define protocols and transition plans that would allow these new forms of information to reach the PSAP. Three objectives must be achieved before this can happen. First, the data-exchange infrastructure must be created for first responders. Second, some entity--either the PSAP or a third party--must capture the relevant data information and hold it for use by the first responder. Third, the PSAP must pass sufficient information to the first responder to facilitate access to the information that has been stored. These elements must be part of the Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1). The NG 9-1-1 uses Internet Protocol interfaces that support transporting voice and data rather than the traditional telephone interfaces that primarily support voice. Currently, it is not clear that this solution reaches all the way to the first responder.