Key elements of an emergency response plan
By: Kim O'Connell
You can't prevent every event, but you have to be prepared for every event, says Christy Cooper, Water Sector Director of Research and Analysis for Kansas...
Interoperability drives county's radio upgrade
Lake County, Ohio, has implemented a mixed-mode communications system to provide interoperability among the county's public safety and public service...
INSIDE WASHINGTON/Plan addresses wildland fire prevention
By: Mark Preston
County governments are hoping a new strategic partnership with the federal government will help reduce the risks of wildland fires. Working with the Denver-based...
Body language: Using biometric technology
By: Lindsay Isaacs, Associate Editor
A few years ago, a dangerous criminal walked out of the Lancaster County (Pa.) Prison after fooling officials into believing that he was someone else....
PUBLIC SAFETY/City shares lessons learned from radio project
By: Richard Noll
After 13 years of trial and error, Kansas City, Mo., finally has a public safety radio system that meets its needs. In 1988, the city decided to build...
E-911 system pinpoints callers in county buildings
Last summer, Cook County, Ill., put in place an enhanced 911 (E-911) crisis response system. By implementing the system, the county becomes one of the...
What locals want
By: Janet Ward
The Sept. 11 attacks were not only the worst terrorist acts ever perpetrated against Americans. They also were a wake-up call for local governments, which,...
USCM: National Action Plan proposed
By: Marc Morial
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, mayors across the country have mobilized local resources to protect the residents of their cities in the event of further...
NACo: Public health, funding are key
By: Javier Gonzales
America is at war. Internationally, our country is fighting to stop terrorism and find the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks. At home, the war is focused...
An Olympian effort to protect The Games
By: Randy Southerland
Early next month, scores of athletes representing more than 80 nations will march into Salt Lake City's Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium to the thundering...
Philadelphia police exceed expectation in response drill
http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2001/11/01/local_news/PDRILL01.htm...
Preparing for the worst
By: Beth Wade, Managing Editor
Just as New York's physical landscape was catastrophically altered by the events of Sept. 11, so was the psychic landscape of America's cities and counties....
Pasadena uses GIS to warn residents of blackouts
During California's energy crisis this summer, Pasadena Water and Power (PWP) began using geographic information systems (GIS) to notify customers of...
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS/Cities, county cooperate in hazard plan
Orange County, Fla., along with most of the 12 municipalities within its boundaries, has created a local hazard mitigation strategy. The plan has helped...
FLOOD CONTROL/Flood control project brings economic stability
Prior to 1996, residents of Ewing Township, N.J., endured periodic flooding and watched nervously as erosion accelerated. I was losing a bit of my backyard...
PUBLIC HEALTH/County acts to provide insurance for all kids
By: Lindsay Isaacs, Associate Editor
Santa Clara County, Calif., started a program in January that is aimed at providing universal health care for all of the county's children. As of April,...
PUBLIC SAFETY/Fire department helps with runaway program
The problem of runaway youth is a national one; every year, 1 million to 1.3 million youths run away from home. Chesterfield County, Va., has not been...
Drill tests response to terrorism
By: Beth Wade, Managing Editor
On May 20, runners gathered in Portsmouth, N.H., for a 5K road race that originated at the city's Port Authority. As registrants waited for the race's...
PUBLIC SAFETY/Police map new approach to domestic calls
By: Charles Johnston, chief of police, Lakewood, Colo.
Domestic violence affects one in every three women in the United States, according to the Family Violence Prevention Fund, San Francisco. In 1999, 24,000...
Reverse 911 aids emergency victims
When disasters occur, public safety officials usually are faced with a barrage of phone calls from residents and media asking for details about the situation....
PUBLIC SAFETY/County fights cardiac arrest with AEDs
Owen County, Ind., is one of the first counties in the nation to equip public schools with automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), and the first county...
