The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched a new prize competition to advance the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in first responder search and rescue operations.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is seeking white papers from industry, academia, laboratories, and the innovation community for research and development into 10 new first responder technology funding opportunities.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), private sector partners, local first responders, and state and federal partners held a tabletop exercise to test emergency response and recovery operations in preparation for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field, which will be held June 18-27 at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus.

A recent survey conducted by Rave showed that only 22% of respondents completely trust the information they receive from local officials. Many factors – such as the spread of disinformation, social unrest and the ongoing pandemic – likely contribute to this low level of trust. However, it still poses a big problem to local leaders who are trying to keep residents safe – especially during the ongoing pandemic. We connected with Todd Miller, SVP of Strategic Programs at Rave Mobile Safety, to talk about how local governments and organizations can go about re-building trust in their communities by communicating effectively with residents.

Rave Mobile Safety (Rave) released its 2021 Mental Health and Emergency Response Survey results. The findings show that Americans are concerned about mental health generally and want to see first responders, including 9-1-1 call takers, police, EMS and fire fighters, improve emergency response involving mental health crises.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced it will pilot a new technology in support of the Next Generation Network Priority Service (NGN-PS) Phase 2 program, which provides first responders and emergency managers with priority voice, data, and video communications during emergencies and widespread outages.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), NASCAR, the Daytona International Speedway, state and local first responders, law enforcement officials, and local businesses held a tabletop exercise today to test response plans around hypothetical public safety incidents on the day of the DAYTONA 500.