By TJ Kennedy, FirstNet President
The 2015 International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference wrapped up in Chicago yesterday, with more than 14,000 attendees from across the world. Held concurrently with the Major Cities Chiefs (MCC) and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), the conference was an opportunity to engage with law enforcement leaders on key issues facing their agencies in their communities.
FirstNet was pleased to have a larger presence at this year’s event than previous conferences, with 16 speaking engagement opportunities and several members of the FirstNet team in attendance, including FirstNet Board Member and Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek.
One of the themes from the four-day joint conference was the increasing realization that technology is driving innovative changes in policing and public safety. Many sessions in the technology track explored how first responders can benefit from new technologies. The exhibit floor was also full of fresh ideas and new technological solutions designed to enhance law enforcement’s situational awareness, safety, and communications.
The following is a recap of just some of the sessions and panel discussions that FirstNet participated in during the MCC and IACP conferences:
- MCC – Sheriff Stanek presented to a packed room about FirstNet’s efforts to deploy the nationwide public safety broadband network (NPSBN). He encouraged each city to participate in FirstNet planning and outreach and to identify a liaison in their agency to engage with the state single point of contact (SPOC) on FirstNet matters. Following Sheriff Stanek, I presented on key elements of FirstNet’s upcoming Request for Proposal (RFP), which led to an engaging question-and-answer session with the Chiefs. We also heard feedback from the Chiefs on the positive impact that our local outreach efforts were having on law enforcement awareness about FirstNet, including Senior Law Enforcement Advisor Josh Ederheimer’s presentation to the Police Command Staff in Atlanta earlier this year.
- IACP Civil Rights Committee – I was glad FirstNet had the opportunity to speak to this committee, as many of the civil rights issues and protections leverage new technology.
IACP Past President Yost Zakhary discusses the West Texas Explosion and how a public safety broadband network could have improved operations.
View high resolution photos on flickr - IACP Communications and Technology Committee – FirstNet Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) Chair Harlin McEwen was honored for his chairmanship of the IACP Communications and Technology Committee for the past 37 years. Chief McEwen is the former Ithaca, NY police chief and received a standing ovation from the committee, as well as several accolades including a plaque, and handwritten letters for his service from Louis Freeh, the former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), current FBI Director James Comey, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas, and DHS Office of Emergency Communications Director Ron Hewitt. The Committee introduced Alexandria, VA Deputy Chief Eddie Reyes as its new chair. I had the opportunity to speak to this committee about FirstNet’s efforts to plan and design the NPSBN, focusing on our consultation with the states and local jurisdictions and most importantly, how FirstNet has leveraged the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) and task teams they have put together on key efforts such as priority and preemption and public safety grade resiliency. I also acknowledged many individuals in the room that were involved in efforts leading to the establishment of FirstNet.
- IACP University and College Police Section – This session featured dialogue around rural connectivity and the unique communication challenges associated with policing an environment where both campus and local law enforcement provide services to a community.
- IACP Indian Country Committee – FirstNet Director of Outreach Amanda Hilliard spoke to attendees from tribal nations, as well as federal partners who are members of the committee, about strides FirstNet and many states have made with outreach and coordination with public safety in Indian Country. Amanda mentioned that there is more to come with additional tribal engagement with the recent hiring of two new tribal members – Adam Geisler, Hon. (La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians) and Margaret Muhr (Citizen Potawatomi Nation).
- IACP Division of State Associations of Chiefs of Police (SACOP) Section – Josh Ederheimer provided the committee with multiple avenues for communicating with FirstNet and for ensuring they are staying up-to-date with the most recent relevant information from the SPOCs in their states and territories.
- PERF Town Hall –Sheriff Stanek and I presented to law enforcement executives about next steps for FirstNet and on how we want them to engage on the future NPSBN.
- “LMR to LTE Communications and Collaboration: Lessons Learned from FirstNet's First Two Years” – Harlin McEwen moderated this panel , which followed the history of FirstNet and the NPSBN, of which he played a key role in helping to make it a reality. The session also featured local real-life examples of broadband usage and potential from Parasmus Police Deputy Chief (ret.) James Sheehan, NJ SPOC Fred Scalera, and Mike Sena, President of the National Fusion Center Association (NFCA).
TJ Kennedy, FirstNet President, Sheriff Richard Stanek, FirstNet Board Member, Police Chief Yost Zakhary, IACP Past President, and Thomas Lampe, Iowa FirstNet SPOC at a panel “FirstNet – The Future of Policing”
View high resolution photos on flickr - “FirstNet: The Future of Policing” – During this session, IACP past President and Woodway, Texas Police Chief Yost Zakhary presented a number of scenarios regarding how broadband could improve response operations such as the West Texas Explosion in 2014. Further, Tom Lampe, who is the Interoperability Officer for the Iowa Department of Public Safety and Iowa SPOC, described his outreach strategy in Iowa and the feedback he has received from local first responders in the state about FirstNet.
In addition, many from the FirstNet team had the opportunity to visit Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications’ state of the art facility consisting of city emergency management, law enforcement, and 911 dispatchers. The center provides a full-spectrum operations center with live video feeds of the more than 26,000 cameras from all around the city. Thanks to Deputy Chief Jonathan Lewin from the Chicago Police Department for arranging the visit. Jonathan also spoke at several IACP technology sessions about body cameras and video analytics, data and predictive policing.
Meetings like the MCC and IACP are critical to FirstNet’s ability to communicate with the law enforcement community. They also provide an opportunity to answer key questions about the NPSBN in an open setting. Thanks to all who attended the FirstNet sessions, and thanks to IACP, MCC, and PERF for the opportunity to speak to its respective membership bases.
I was also able to meet with Illinois Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC) Joe Galvin and his team over the weekend. Joe continues to lead in the state of Illinois and we look forward to ongoing cooperation.
-TJ
