In a Friday morning press conference at Northern Illinois University, university officials, NIU police and city police all agreed that the various agencies responding to the 911 call yesterday at about 3:06 pm were communicating well with each other. Two University officers arrived near the scene within seconds of calls for help; city police were not far behind. Seven people died in the attack, including the shooter by his own hand. The March 2008 issue of Security Magazine will have significant coverage of mass notification at colleges and universities and a survey of first responder communications. What follows is a preview of some of that coverage.
Communication during an emergency doesn’t get anymore critical or technologically complex then when it comes to public safety incidents. A just-released national survey to assess how public safety organizations use current communications technology and what future capabilities they would deploy reveals a strong demand for technology solutions that provide advanced situational awareness to first responders, improved incident coordination and streamlined emergency response.