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Despite the challenges, law enforcement agencies are answering the call to respond to COVID-19 in their communities. From operating testing facilities to responding to calls from potentially sick patients, officers recognize the importance of communications in their response. As the nation’s only public safety broadband network built specifically for first responders, FirstNet enhances frontline policing through a reliable, secure, and dedicated connection.
Jump into planning with FirstNet
Brian Schoonmaker was named Chief of Police in Hazleton, Pennsylvania in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis. Among the other changes, he transitioned from an agency on a commercial network to an agency on FirstNet. In fact, many of Hazleton’s city agencies including the police department, fire department, public works, emergency management, and the mayor’s office are all FirstNet subscribers. That allowed Chief Schoonmaker to jump right into planning with the mayor and fire chief to initialize policies to keep the community safe.
One way the police department is using FirstNet during the pandemic is to support physical distancing. FirstNet devices were issued to patrol officers, who used them to communicate with the public for non-emergency calls to avoid in-person visits with complainants as well as to improve communications with other officers to avoid unnecessary trips back to the station.
In everyday use, Hazleton Police Department uses FirstNet to connect their in-vehicle CAD systems to the 9-1-1 center, to security cameras, and for fleet management. Soon they’re planning to use FirstNet for body cameras and dash cameras. The decision to switch to FirstNet was clear cut because of the customer support, push-to-talk, and backup to 9-1-1 capabilities.
“For our city, FirstNet has worked fantastically,” said Chief Schoonmaker. “FirstNet has also made a difference for our police department as we push forward technologically. I strongly recommend trying it, especially with the COVID-19 crisis.”
FirstNet powers mobile testing
In Gilpin County, Colorado, the sheriff’s department used FirstNet to power the COVID-19 community testing conducted at the county public health building. With the office of emergency management, ambulance service, and fire service on the FirstNet network, the county’s public safety has interoperable communications across agencies to connect health officials and first responders.
To boost connectivity at the testing site, the sheriff’s department requested a deployable, a dedicated FirstNet mobile cell site (SatCOLT). The FirstNet fleet of deployables can be requested for planned events or in an emergency at no extra cost to subscribers.
“Our priority is providing testing to protect the health of our community, so we are aggressively pursuing testing to help keep our numbers down. Staying connected while responding to the urgent needs of the community is critical,” said Sheriff Kevin M. Armstrong.
Your experience
The First Responder Network Authority’s mission is to create a broadband network for public safety. We work hand-in-hand with public safety to understand your needs for emergency communications. I want to hear from you—email me with your experiences or questions about the nationwide public safety broadband network. Or find the senior public safety advisor assigned to your state and request a virtual briefing about FirstNet.
My FirstNet Authority colleagues and I are participating in virtual public safety conferences, and I hope you’ll check out our presentations and sessions at these events:
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