As 2020 draws to a close, we reflect upon a year with almost unparalleled challenges, but also one where many of the changes already underway in public safety technology were accelerated.  Nationwide, the impacts of the pandemic, the unrest primarily in reaction to the George Floyd and Brianna Taylor deaths, and the police reform movement have had a singular and unprecedented impact on the delivery of public safety services.  As we approach 2021, many of the challenges that originated in 2020 remain unresolved: but the expanded rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines is a critical step in the nation’s and the world’s recovery from the pandemic.  

 

The pandemic combined with other major incidents in 2020 created a singular challenge to most jurisdictions in determining how to rapidly implement and adapt transformative technologies that support their on-going efforts to work smarter, faster, safer, in an increasingly uncertain world.  All governments have had to rethink the delivery of critical services to adjust to the reality of remote workforces and significantly constrained budgets, and many have embraced the benefits of technologies in the areas of as-a-service technology provisioning and advanced analytics to more efficiently delivery services.  

 

Our industry continues to accept and adopt ever maturing technologies to support the effective delivery of services.  From our perspective, key public safety technology initiatives include:

 

 

Many issues and challenges still continue to plague the industry; however, paramount among these is the need to identify a source of reliable and steady funding.  NENA, APCO, NASNA, iCERT and many other industry associations have kept this issue at the forefront and the national and state level, but problems still persist.  As telecommunications technologies continue to advance while legislative terminology (inaction) stays the same, the traditional phone surcharge has not kept up with budget needs and operational requirements in most states.  This situation has created a funding issue for 9-1-1 across the country.  New solutions to fund 9-1-1 systems, operations and staffing will need to be identified to support the 911 systems in 2021 and beyond.  Many states’ 9-1-1 funds continue to face pressure from legislatures as they attempt to balance their budgets., While there was no action on federal funding in 2020, there is always hope that new funding legislation will be introduced in 2021, most likely as part of a larger infrastructure bill.  

 

There have been a number of notable advances across the globe to support citizens’ ability to get access to the critical services provided by 911, 999, 112, and other emergency communications centers.  These include:

 

As always, we want to extend our thanks and appreciation to the public safety community, our clients and business partners; whether they are first responders, government entities, technology and communications agencies, private sector firms, or international organizations.  We also want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our staff, who have adjusted to the realities of the pandemic to continue to provide our clients best-in-class services and support.

 

Our industry continually evolves, creating new technical and operational approaches, as well as challenges.  We are looking forward to serving our industry and our clients in 2021 by continuing to provide innovative and cost-effective solutions in the areas of operations and technology consulting, and systems integration services.