Smartphone + MAPS = The right direction for public safety
Yes, there’s an app for that!
The amount of applications for your iPhone, Droid, or other smartphone can be overwhelming today.
How many of those apps do you actually use? Whether for recreational or business, on average, most Americans access roughly 27 apps a month and spend 37 hours a month putting them to good use.
For public safety professionals apps have become a vital resource. In fact, public safety communications technology is undergoing a major transformation to advanced, IP-based platforms. The introduction of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) nationwide network and Next Generation 9–1–1 (NG9–1–1) systems will enable the use of new apps that will become essential components of emergency response. As they become more prevalent, We See the need to educate public safety mobile application developers on the specific needs of first responders.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) is committed to informing the development and distribution of mobile applications for first responders. OEC established the Mobile Applications for Public Safety (MAPS) project to promote consistent security, functionality and performance best practices in the development and adoption of mobile apps. The reliable operational capability provided by secure mobile apps is part of the Department’s vision for comprehensive communications architecture for public safety.
What’s great about the MAPS project? It provides policy oversight for the public safety mobile ecosystem. MAPS collaborates with interagency partners, the private sector, public safety groups, professionals, and academia in order to:
- Promote the security, functionality and performance requirements of mobile apps for public safety;
- Advocate for public safety mission needs in the mobile environment;
- Enable and streamline the development, discovery and distribution of mobile applications for first responders.
MAPS opens a next-generation public safety mobile applications market space to a larger developer audience, focusing efforts on public safety needs.
As part of the MAPS effort, DHS established the First Responder Mobile Application Development Best Practices Guide, which provides assistance to developers in understanding the public safety market. The Guide was developed in conjunction with mobile application developers, public safety personnel, and commercially-available best practices to:
- Educate developers on the operational environments of first responders
- Introduce developers to the challenges faced by personnel in each of the public safety disciplines
- Promote the security, functionality and performance requirements of public safety
- Provide recommendations for enhancing apps specifically for public safety, including resources for further research
The Guide also has a companion document Mobile Device Adoption Best Practices.
Public safety apps aren’t just for the pros. So, what’s the best one for you?
The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) created “AppComm” (Application Community) with those exact questions in mind.
AppComm is offers a collection of apps related to public safety and emergency response for use by the general public and first responders. AppComm is also a forum where public safety professionals, the general public, and app developers can discuss and rate apps, identify unmet needs, and submit ideas for apps they’d like to see built.
The “APP” Advantage
Rising costs for technology, equipment, and other work related necessities makes it hard to properly outfit and protect front line personnel. Despite the many fiscal challenges public safety agencies are facing, the ability to communicate and function effectively during day-to-day operations and large scale events remains.
We See the importance of mobile apps as used in the 2014 Boston Marathon and the IRONMAN Texas North American Championship.
Instead of using traditional PTT portable radios that only work within a dedicated wireless network channel, Boston’s Brookline officers used BeOn — a mobile application downloaded to any standard, off-the-shelf smartphone — to securely communicate over their department’s frequency using any available network connection (e.g., LTE, Wi-Fi, etc.). With this technology, commanders, dispatchers and officers not only had uninterrupted, clear communications, but they could also monitor each assigned team’s position through the app’s geomapping function.
In Texas, the BeOn mobile app was used by EMS units who continuously transmitted and received mapping information through their smartphones. The app allowed dispatchers to immediately locate the nearest medic whenever an injury was reported. Not only did the platform help facilitate quick and efficient patient care — 40 transports in total — it also helped ensure evenly-dispersed coverage over the entire area, preventing units from clustering in any one section of the course.
From an operational standpoint, outfitting all of your personnel with smartphones may be no more cost effective than assigning personal portable radios, especially when monthly cellular service charges are factored in. What smartphones and public safety apps do for law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical service community is provide another layer of connectivity. By doing so apps improve interoperability, and increase situational awareness.
WeSeeHSE: Seeing, Sharing, Informing
Additional information can be found at the following links:
