URGENT COMMUNICATIONS
Sep 14, 2010 6:01 PM
By Glenn Bischoff
A couple of weeks ago, Urgent Communications spoke with Dick Mirgon about his year as president of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials. This week we catch up with Bill Carrow, the communications section chief for the Delaware State Police, who last month began his term as APCO’s president. Carrow spoke extensively about one of his pet projects — training certification for 911 telecommunicators — and the progress that has been made to date.
Statewide training certification is sorely lacking nationwide. What is APCO doing about it?
The Professional Human Resources Taskforce (ProCHRT) was unveiled during National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week in 2009. The first step was to establish some very specific goals, first and foremost, to study what each state is doing, or what they’re mandating, in the way of training certification for telecommunicators. We knew that this was a nationwide problem. We knew that we had bits and pieces of training going on, some more elaborate than others — and that’s no way to run an airline, much less a public-safety answering point. You see in the media all the time stories about 911 calls that went awry.
The Denise Amber Lee tragedy has become the poster child for such events, has it not?
That’s what I was leading up to. You see these events on a weekly basis, but the Denise Amber Lee Foundation really hit home. We started studying the Denise Amber Lee case to understand what had happened. Two years prior to that event happening, APCO’s Florida chapter had been pushing for training certification across the state, but wasn’t successful.
What were the hurdles?
The hurdles basically were funding, number one, and, number two, getting the various entities down there — the sheriffs, the police and fire — to fully understand that this not only should be a requirement, but that it also is a necessity.
What has been accomplished so far regarding ProCHRT?
Where we really started gaining some ground is when we realized just how few states have any kind of mandated training. When you consider that the person who runs a tanning booth is required to have more training than our telecommunicators who are handling life-and-death decisions every day, that’s wrong. We now have an interim report that provides a report card for the country up to this point. It delineates the training that is going on state by state, and lists any agencies that are Project 33-compliant within a given state. There are 17 of those right now.
After reviewing this report card, what grade would you give in terms of the level of training certification across the country?
It would be a grade of “F.” There’s a lot of room for improvement.
What needs to be done? What’s the first step?
Basically, we wanted to gather information via ProCHRT that would let us create a tool kit that our members could use to go back to their home states and push for training certification. We never had this kind of information before. The next step is to use the success we’ve had in the state of Florida as a starting point for success in other states. Arkansas is one of those states — it has proposed legislation that was based on what they saw in Florida. I think this is going to be a groundswell. It’s not insurmountable anymore.
What else would you like to see accomplished in the coming year?
Right along those lines is promoting our Project 33, which has just been revised for 2010. It has been beefed up by adding the fire and EMS pieces to the dispatch function and by increasing the minimum requirements for all positions. My agency just went through it. That was one of the goals I set for myself — I wanted my agency not only Project 33–compliant, but also fully accredited.
Why was that so important to you?
When you do those things, you’re showing people that you’re trying to meet the best-of-the-best standards. So, what we want to do is promote that to every chapter, to show the importance of getting individual training programs P33-compliant.
Ed: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law in June a bill that requires 911 telecommunicators in the state to become certified and compile 232 hours of training before handling an emergency call.
http://urgentcomm.com/policy_and_law/news/carrow-apco-QandA-20100914/
Showing posts with label 911 standards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 911 standards. Show all posts
Friday, October 1, 2010
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Today's Top Story in the Sun
Published on: Thursday, March 26, 2009
Area legislators sponsor 911 training bill
Kreegel, Roberson have authored a bill requiring certification of dispatchers.
House 0769: Relating to 911 Emergency Dispatcher Certification
Senate 2040: Relating to 911 Emergency Dispatcher Certification
Florida House of Representatives
Florida Senate
With the help of all five North Port city commissioners, state representatives Ken Roberson and Paige Kreegel pushed a bill through committee Wednesday that would require certification standards for 911 operators in Florida.
House Bill 769, titled "911 Emergency Dispatcher Certification," is a measure pushed by the Charlotte County Republicans in reaction to the murder of 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee, who was kidnapped from her North Port home last year. The Lee family believes the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office botched a 911 call to dispatch units to the intersection where Denise was last seen by a motorist.
"I think it's going to go a long way to improve the public's confidence in the 911 system and hopefully save lives here in Florida," Roberson, of Port Charlotte, said from Tallahassee Wednesday. It was one of three bills he had which successfully passed through committee.
If it completes the committee process and becomes law through the Legislature, the bill would require any person serving as a 911 emergency dispatcher to be certified by the Florida Department of Health by Oct. 1, 2012, through a set of statewide standards. Currently, each emergency dispatch call center mandates its own criteria.
A similar bill also is being pushed by Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Sarasota.
The bill was given unanimous approval by the Health Care Regulation Committee after an impassioned speech by North Port City Commissioner David Garofalo, who also is on the board of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation. Roberson said Garofalo told the harrowing tale of Lee's demise to a captivated audience of around 200.
"You could hear a pin drop when he was telling the story," Roberson said.
No one was more surprised than Garofalo by his speech -- the commissioner did not expect to address the committee in his visit Wednesday. But seeing the bill face opposition from Tallahassee lobbyists, Garofalo said he felt compelled to give his all for Denise.
"I'm not going to have her name die in this committee right here," the commissioner, still fired up from the meeting, recalled himself thinking Wednesday.
Garofalo said he had tears welling up in his eyes as he spoke, earning the 5-0 vote. Given that, he thinks he got through to the members of the House that this bill is about more than the Lee family's tragedy.
"It's not just a grieving family," Garofalo said. "This is what needs to happen."
See this story at www.sunnewspapers.net to read both the House and Senate bills.
E-mail: nhughes@sun-herald.com
By NEIL HUGHES
Staff Writer
Area legislators sponsor 911 training bill
Kreegel, Roberson have authored a bill requiring certification of dispatchers.
House 0769: Relating to 911 Emergency Dispatcher Certification
Senate 2040: Relating to 911 Emergency Dispatcher Certification
Florida House of Representatives
Florida Senate
With the help of all five North Port city commissioners, state representatives Ken Roberson and Paige Kreegel pushed a bill through committee Wednesday that would require certification standards for 911 operators in Florida.
House Bill 769, titled "911 Emergency Dispatcher Certification," is a measure pushed by the Charlotte County Republicans in reaction to the murder of 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee, who was kidnapped from her North Port home last year. The Lee family believes the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office botched a 911 call to dispatch units to the intersection where Denise was last seen by a motorist.
"I think it's going to go a long way to improve the public's confidence in the 911 system and hopefully save lives here in Florida," Roberson, of Port Charlotte, said from Tallahassee Wednesday. It was one of three bills he had which successfully passed through committee.
If it completes the committee process and becomes law through the Legislature, the bill would require any person serving as a 911 emergency dispatcher to be certified by the Florida Department of Health by Oct. 1, 2012, through a set of statewide standards. Currently, each emergency dispatch call center mandates its own criteria.
A similar bill also is being pushed by Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Sarasota.
The bill was given unanimous approval by the Health Care Regulation Committee after an impassioned speech by North Port City Commissioner David Garofalo, who also is on the board of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation. Roberson said Garofalo told the harrowing tale of Lee's demise to a captivated audience of around 200.
"You could hear a pin drop when he was telling the story," Roberson said.
No one was more surprised than Garofalo by his speech -- the commissioner did not expect to address the committee in his visit Wednesday. But seeing the bill face opposition from Tallahassee lobbyists, Garofalo said he felt compelled to give his all for Denise.
"I'm not going to have her name die in this committee right here," the commissioner, still fired up from the meeting, recalled himself thinking Wednesday.
Garofalo said he had tears welling up in his eyes as he spoke, earning the 5-0 vote. Given that, he thinks he got through to the members of the House that this bill is about more than the Lee family's tragedy.
"It's not just a grieving family," Garofalo said. "This is what needs to happen."
See this story at www.sunnewspapers.net to read both the House and Senate bills.
E-mail: nhughes@sun-herald.com
By NEIL HUGHES
Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Olidia Kerr Day (part two)
I posted about Olidia Kerr Day the other day and missed some startling tragic details. I heard from Olidia's sister, Olga this morning. Gosh, it gets worse. You can hear the emotions in Olga's words just by reading them. Anyhow, read what she asked me to add. I can't imagine Olidia's last moments. Just as I can't imagine Denise's.
Both thought at some point they would be saved! Both were expecting something from 9-1-1 that they didn't get. Is that 9-1-1's fault? Was it human error? Was it lack of compassion on the call takers parts? Was it the latest technology available not being used? Was it Denise and Olidia not understanding how 9-1-1 works? Could Olidia have been saved? Yes! Could Denise have been saved? Yes!
Fortunately we know that changes are in the works. Representative Ken Roberson is introducing a bill in the Florida State Legislature asking that standards be made "mandatory". Unfortunately the standards and training will not be enforced totally until 2012 and we need those changes now. That's okay, it's a good second step. The Denise Amber Lee Act was the first step. We just got back from Washington DC that was fruitful. The guys just got back from California all pumped up and motivated. And it's true that the majority of 9-1-1 calls ARE handled appropriately. Out in California Mark and Nate said they met many wonderful, conscientious, diligent and dedicated call takers and dispatchers. I'm sure we must have them here in Florida!
But Olidia's and Denise's call takers definitely dropped the ball. Lives were lost.
And with more and more people using cell phones to call 9-1-1 in our increasingly mobile society, we need to use the technology available to us. It's hard to believe you can GPS a coral reef, 30 miles off the coast to go scuba diving, but you can't find a person using a cell phone.
We need to address the problems that need fixing and fix them so that other families do not have to suffer the way our families have. Bad enough having a loved one murdered by a maniac. But then to know they could've been saved and that the police departments will not acknowledge what went wrong and then have them treat you with disdain, well........ it's words can't describe the pain.
see former post: http://toosad4words.blogspot.com/2009/03/olidia-kerr-day.html
This is what Olidia's sister wrote to me this morning:
"...the only thing that I would add is that Olidia eventually remembered the address to the police station, told the operator that she remembered now and to have police outside waiting for her.
How she must have felt when she drove up and not seen anyone, Olidia knew she was going to be murdered and those were her last words "Oh God he is going to kill me".
She was gunned down by the front door of the police station.
It still pains me to remember and I am full of anger by the way that Denise and Olida lost their lives because someone did not care enough to do their jobs correctly.
I understand that Denise's calls were not dispatched either, every time I remember the eyewitness in her case who was following (this should read 'in front of the car') the car I get chills.
What a tragedy! I can't understand how these people are still working for the 911 centers. They should be in jail, I am sorry as you can see I am still angry and I don't know if it will ever go away."
Both thought at some point they would be saved! Both were expecting something from 9-1-1 that they didn't get. Is that 9-1-1's fault? Was it human error? Was it lack of compassion on the call takers parts? Was it the latest technology available not being used? Was it Denise and Olidia not understanding how 9-1-1 works? Could Olidia have been saved? Yes! Could Denise have been saved? Yes!
Fortunately we know that changes are in the works. Representative Ken Roberson is introducing a bill in the Florida State Legislature asking that standards be made "mandatory". Unfortunately the standards and training will not be enforced totally until 2012 and we need those changes now. That's okay, it's a good second step. The Denise Amber Lee Act was the first step. We just got back from Washington DC that was fruitful. The guys just got back from California all pumped up and motivated. And it's true that the majority of 9-1-1 calls ARE handled appropriately. Out in California Mark and Nate said they met many wonderful, conscientious, diligent and dedicated call takers and dispatchers. I'm sure we must have them here in Florida!
But Olidia's and Denise's call takers definitely dropped the ball. Lives were lost.
And with more and more people using cell phones to call 9-1-1 in our increasingly mobile society, we need to use the technology available to us. It's hard to believe you can GPS a coral reef, 30 miles off the coast to go scuba diving, but you can't find a person using a cell phone.
We need to address the problems that need fixing and fix them so that other families do not have to suffer the way our families have. Bad enough having a loved one murdered by a maniac. But then to know they could've been saved and that the police departments will not acknowledge what went wrong and then have them treat you with disdain, well........ it's words can't describe the pain.
see former post: http://toosad4words.blogspot.com/2009/03/olidia-kerr-day.html
This is what Olidia's sister wrote to me this morning:
"...the only thing that I would add is that Olidia eventually remembered the address to the police station, told the operator that she remembered now and to have police outside waiting for her.
How she must have felt when she drove up and not seen anyone, Olidia knew she was going to be murdered and those were her last words "Oh God he is going to kill me".
She was gunned down by the front door of the police station.
It still pains me to remember and I am full of anger by the way that Denise and Olida lost their lives because someone did not care enough to do their jobs correctly.
I understand that Denise's calls were not dispatched either, every time I remember the eyewitness in her case who was following (this should read 'in front of the car') the car I get chills.
What a tragedy! I can't understand how these people are still working for the 911 centers. They should be in jail, I am sorry as you can see I am still angry and I don't know if it will ever go away."
Friday, March 6, 2009
Matthew Cantrell and 9-1-1
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I thought my babies and grandbabies were adorable but look at this little guy! Isn't he or I should say wasn't he adorable. Yes, wasn't. Another 9-1-1 tragedy. And one I simply can't get out of my mind.
Little Matthew was from Murphy, Texas. He, his mom and his older brother were watching TV when Matthew wandered away. He somehow became tangled up in a play soccer net. By the time the mom noticed he was missing he was in deep trouble. Matthew's mom tried desperately to save his life. I listened to the 9-1-1 call today and you can literally hear the desperation in her voice.
It brought back some memories of my own two boys when they were little. One time Brian somehow got out of the house and he was standing in the middle of Carrollton Road. He was standing on the double yellow line wearing nothing but a diaper. I forget what I was doing. I must've been doing something. Because there he was out there in the street.
Nathan when he was two swallowed all my high blood pressure pills. He climbed up the kitchen counter and somehow got the pills. The child proof lid wasn't on tight. I thought he was upstairs napping and there he was in there eating my pills as if they were candy. We rushed him to the hospital and on the way I heard his death rattle. They saw us come in the ER and pushed everyone who was ahead of us out of the way and all the doctors started working on him.
My point is things happen. I wasn't an unfit mother.
In Matthew's case the 9-1-1 call taker can be heard saying "he either tried to strangle himself or someone tried to strangle him". What bull. The baby was only a year old! You can hear the call taker saying that as clear as day! Who did he think he was? God? Accidents and tragedies happen. Not everyone these days wants to harm their kids. Sadly there are folks out there that do great harm and actually kill their kids. But if this call taker had listened, truly listened instead of judging he would have heard the mom (who, yes, tragically was hysterical) trying her best to calm herself down. She literally begged the man to tell her what to do.
Do these call takers become desensitized through time? Do they witness so much tragedy that they don't feel it anymore?
You hear them discussing it afterwards and they're just cold. It's creepy. One says "yeah, she wasn't going to listen. I tried and she just wasn't going to listen". That's totally untrue. She did try and you can hear her telling herself "calm down. I have to calm down. Breathe."
Then the police on the scene separate this poor distraught mother from her son! Because they presumed it was a crime scene? OH MY GOD! HOW DO YOU DO THAT? WHO MADE THAT DECISION???? Then they tell the paramedics that "he is gone" and that it is "now a crime scene". Meanwhile the paramedics testified how the mom could be heard screaming her grief. Well heck yeah! The paramedics understood. I'd be screaming too if they had separated me from Nathan or Brian. Just watch the movie "Dumbo" when Dumbo's taken from his mom. Yes, I think I could become violent. The night Nathan was a suspect in Denise's death, I wouldn't leave. He wanted me to. He asked me almost begged me to go home and help Sue with the babies. Would I leave? Hell NO! Even tho' he was 23 years old, I wasn't leaving. He was in danger. His wife was in danger.
Fortunately those paramedics forced the issue and told the cop who thought he was God, that they were the ones to decide whether there was life.
Sadly and tragically because of all the wasted time any chance of little Matthew surviving was thrown away and it all began with the call taker who wasn't helping the mom. Then just as in Denise's case it all snowballed and like Denise, little Matthew didn't have a chance.
And this cop decides to play God and separate the boy from his mom and treat it as a crime scene? The call taker assumes someone tried to strangle him? Holy Hell.
Excuse my language but I'm quite distraught over this.
Also, Matthew's 4 yo older brother witnessed the whole thing. Mom sent him for the scissors to cut through the net. Does that sound like someone who just tried to strangle her child?
I just look at that beautiful face. He was beautiful! It's obvious in his face and chubby arms his parents adored him! That he was a healthy beautiful boy.
I would think that the citizens in Murphy, Texas would be up in arms saying "hey! this is wrong! We deserve better!" "We can do better!"
But, you know, just like in Charlotte County the City of Murphy doesn't think they handled anyo of this wrong. They feel they handled everything appropriately. Sound familiar?
Hah! Sorry for the rant.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Nathan Lee CalNENA press release
FOUNDING PRESIDENT NATHAN LEE DELIVERS KEY NOTE ADDRESS TO CALIFORNIAS ANNUAL 9-1-1 CONFERENCE
San Diego- After a 5 minute standing ovation from the nation's largest chapter of The National Emergency Number Association (NENA), Nathan Lee came through on his promise to not let his wife's death be in vain by delivering a 45 minute speech that left not a dry eye at the San Diego Conference.
"It was an honor to speak in front of a group of such dedicated public servants who perform one of the most noblest professions in saving lives" Lee said.
The 4 day conference attracted experts worldwide in the 911 EmergencyCommunication Industry.
Mr Lee was invited to speak to the California's State Assembly to raise awareness on the importance of 911 training, funding and uniformed standards.
"The fact that Denise's story is able to make a positive impact on such a large scale and so very far away is inspiring to many in the profession and we are beginning to see her death was not in vain" Lee continued.
Geoff Weiss who is the Training Supervisor for the Communications Division of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department was the one behind the scenes and responsible for getting Nathan Lee to California, he had reached out toNathan early on in his ordeal and said that he had hoped he could help in any way that he could, "I am proud of the way California regulates dispatch and even more proud of how the members of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation were not only here for a key note speech but embedded themselves in every aspect of this 4 day conference, they really showed that they have a passion for fixing 911, I was incredibly impressed by the way they were so involved" Weiss stated.
Nathan was accompanied by other Directors from the Foundation including his father Mark Lee, Businessman Dave Dignam and North Port City Commissioner David Garofalo.
The group was able to make many contacts and are very certain that this is "Now" a national issue and will be traveling to Washington, Texas and Nevada for future national events in which the foundation was invited to participate.
I'm so proud and grateful to all who had something to do with sending Nathan and Mark to San Diego. It was so very healthy and good for them both. Emotionally, I know, they both needed it.
Dave Dignam and David Garofalo deserve our unwavering and undying gratitude. They took time away from their jobs and more especially, away from their families to be there to support Nathan. Their presence made all the difference. Yes, Mark wrote a fantastic speech that touched all the necessary points and, yes, Nathan delivered it with truly heartfelt compassion. But both the Daves networking abilities and their support made all the difference in making the entire 4-day trip a success and not just the speech. God bless you and thank you for that.
For the first time in over a year, I feel hope. I see light. I see that Denise has not died in vain. This journey is a journey of hope for so many, many peoples. And we WILL and CAN succeed in making a difference.
Angels in blue take heart! These men did a fantastic job! The hard work is paying off.
And to all the dedicated, compassionate and diligent dispatchers and call takers across the country and around the world, thank you for doing the jobs you do. And for most of you, thank you, for recognizing we are only wanting to help.
God bless California for inviting us. I can't tell you what it's meant to my family in our grieving process. Denise would be so honored and so proud.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Nathan Lee's speech at CalNENA San Diego, CA
I'm so very very proud of him. Just before his speech they showed a video of his and Denise's story. Practically everybody was crying. Including Nathan who just before his speech had to wipe his eyes. The video received a standing ovation! Mark said that during the speech Nathan was very emotional and had to hold back tears several times. He received a standing ovation at the end as well! After the speech everyone was hugging him and congratulating him. The legislators that were there want to help guide us and are giving us copies of their laws. They've been wonderful. Denise must've been smiling down on Nathan and giving him heart. She'd be so proud of him...........
BTW Mark wrote the speech.
Here's it is:
CalNENA Speech 2009
Good morning everyone.
I want to first say how honored I am to be asked to speak to this group of dedicated public servants.
In my eyes, you truly are the first line of defense for our Homeland Security.
What I would like to talk about today is to first tell you about the Denise Amber Lee Foundation that I started in honor and memory of my wonderful wife and second;
I would like to challenge your thinking on a different way to bring about changes and improvements to your industry.
There are 4 of us from the foundation here this week for the conference.
We hope to target several gatherings like this, this year to learn as much as we can.
We are not experts by any stretch of the imagination.
But we are energized and intensely motivated to do whatever we can to prevent any other family from experiencing the pain and heartbreak that we have suffered.
The famous anthropologist, Margaret Mead, once said:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
So we are here this week to talk to as many of you as possible, to take in the trade show and listen to how you feel we should best be focusing our efforts to make a difference.
As you saw in the introductory video, many opportunities were lost that day to save Denise.
It is not my intent to vilify an industry and a system that failed her that day.
Make no mistake about it; it was a monster named Michael King who murdered my wife.
But when you look closely at the procedural breakdowns and miscommunication of vital information that occurred in that one 9-1-1 Call Center in Florida that night, you can’t help but be outraged.
There is no doubt in my mind that Denise would be alive today if vital information wasn’t grossly mishandled that evening!
And, indeed, over the ensuing months after Denise’s death, we heard from thousands of people from around the world who were outraged.
Many of the most memorable letters and emails that we received were surprising to us, from people in this industry.
We could feel the genuine compassion in those letters for our tragic loss.
We received this touching email from Geoff Weiss, training supervisor for the San Diego Sheriff’s Department.
He wrote....... “Last Thursday I taught my first class since last being in email contact with you.
Although the class was about an unrelated dispatch topic, as promised I took about 30 minutes of it to discuss the story of Denise.
I played the opening Dateline NBC 9 minute piece prior to going on our first break.
Later in the day, I finally played the conclusion..... Nate.... after the video finished I turned around to address my class of 31 dispatchers throughout the state of California and was struck by a chill of emotion as I saw half of them were in tears.
I walked back up to the front of the room, swallowed back the lump in my throat and said, “Remember why you took this job.
Remember what a critical role you play every day in public safety.”
Captain Josh Mindick Special Services Commander of the Boca Raton Florida Police Department wrote this......
“Mr. Lee, as a law enforcement professional, Commander of a 9-1-1 center, father, and husband, I watched Dateline NBC in a stoic silence.
I ordered every Telecommunicator, Police Officer and Firefighter who works in our 9-1-1 center to attend a training block on this tragedy.
It will be watched from Day 1 for new hires so that they will understand the tremendous responsibility that comes with the career they are about to undertake.
During our first session, every one of them was in tears at one point or another during the video.
It is important for my people to hear what the families had to say.
They need to realize the impact that they can make on the outcome of a call for service.”
And he finished with........ “I think they got it!”
Since Denise was the daughter of a detective of the sheriff’s office, a trust fund was set up for the community to donate to our family.
The outpouring from the community was overwhelming. College funds were set up for my two sons, Adam and Noah.
An anonymous donor picked up the tab for the entire funeral.
I knew at this point that I had to do something to give back to the community.
So on June 8th last year, I formed the Denise Amber Lee Foundation.
I wanted to raise funds so that I could help families who experienced similar tragedies but didn’t have the enormous backing of the community like I had enjoyed.
I wanted to set-up trust funds for these families, maybe pay for funerals or help with their debts.
I’m sure many of you are aware of Kevin Willett's group at 911cares.com that provides comfort and support to members of the 9-1-1 community experiencing tragedy.
I think that is an absolutely wonderful idea.
That is what I want to provide for families experiencing tragedies from the shortcomings and inefficiencies of the 9-1-1 system.
The Denise Amber Lee Foundation also is chartered to raise public awareness of 9-1-1 issues and to promote solutions.
I started the foundation with $15,000 of money donated to our family and we are now aggressively seeking donations and sponsorships to carry out our mission.
The largest community foundation in Florida soon partnered with us in our cause. The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice brings their considerable resources and influences to our disposal. In this past legislative session of the Florida legislature, Denise’s father, Detective Rick Goff and myself were called to Tallahassee to support pending legislation for a first ever training standard for 9-1-1 call takers and dispatchers.
Unfortunately, it was an unfunded and voluntary bill, although a great first step.
(Insert Nathan’s account of the event.)
Several legislators are ready to sponsor legislation in the coming session of the Florida legislature to make this training mandatory......
This is what keeps me going.....
This is my motivation....
Helen Keller was once quoted as saying....
“Many persons have a wrong idea of true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
Most of you are familiar with the tragic circumstances of TV’s Americas Most Wanted host, John Walsh.
His 6 year old son Adam was kidnapped and brutally murdered in Florida in 1981.
In his book “Tears of Rage,” Mr. Walsh writes;
“People who haven’t been hit by crime can still enjoy what my wife and I call ‘the luxury of being naïve.’
They go around thinking that it could never happen to them. I envy those people; I truly do.
They don’t know any better.
They don’t understand that, once it happens to you, everything changes, every tiny aspect of your life.
And even though you may look the same on the outside and maybe acting the same way; on the inside you’re coming from a totally different place.”
He continues “To us, even back in the early days, our most basic understanding was always unspoken: Adam cannot have died in vain.
If we had not gone on to do what we eventually did, we would have remained as we were: two grief stricken hand wringing parents who other people looked at and felt sorry for.
But we both came to believe that if you are given the opportunity to change things, then how can you at least not try?”
It has only been 9 months since we started the Denise Amber Lee Foundation but we have had our successes.
Everyone has heard the saying “Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees.”
That saying means when you are involved with all of the small details, it’s hard to see the larger picture.
I feel that is one of our advantages. We don't know the details.
Our concept of 9-1-1, and I think shared by most of the general public, is that you dial 9-1-1 and help arrives fast.
In our pursuit of seeing how we can make a difference, we have taken a more in depth look at how the industry works.
From our perspective of being on the outside looking in, it is crystal clear that the 9-1-1 system is a complicated, complex array of hardware, software, telecommunication networks, personnel and procedures that must all operate flawlessly for the system to work......
It is absolutely amazing to me that the system doesn’t fail more often.
The Denise Amber Lee Foundation has initially identified five areas that we would like to focus on;
Number 1 is training.
We feel that mandatory, standardized training is a must.
The best technology in the world is useless if call takers and dispatchers aren’t trained properly on its use.
Many of you who saw the Dateline and Primetime episodes on Denise’s case know that those shows focused on the mishandled 9-1-1 call from a citizen hero, Jane Kowalski.
Believe me, if you study the Internal Affairs Investigation of that night you will see many other mistakes from lack of training and improper procedures.
It is not my intent to speak on those errors today but if anyone is interested in those details, please see one of us this week and we will be happy to disclose those to you.
From the many emails we have received, mandatory training appears to be a goal of many of you in the industry as well.
The second area of focus for our foundation is appropriate compensation for call takers and dispatchers.
We have discovered that some jurisdictions in this country have starting salaries as low as $10.50/hour for call takers.... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
(here Nathan ad libs and talks about working at Best Buy selling televisions. He points out how much he makes, which is substantially more than call takers and dispatchers in certain areas. He makes a point that he doesn't save lives.)
In emergency services it is hard to say that one link in the chain is more important than another.
Everyone agrees that the call takers job is stressful and at times heart wrenching as they try and console a hysterical caller.
Everyone agrees that if this initial contact with the caller in need of assistance isn’t handled appropriately, it doesn’t matter how good the rest of the chain is, it is going to fail and a tragedy could be the result. If not for the trained and efficient call takers and dispatchers; police would not be able to prevent the rape and murder of a young mother; fire fighters would not be able to recue a child from a burning building and EMTs would not be able reach an accident victim in time to provide life saving first aid.
In an industry where employee retention is an issue, how can we attract dedicated, compassionate, and career minded workers; ask them to endure the stress and undergo the hours and hours of training necessary to perform their duties efficiently for $10.50/hour?
We can’t.
The public has to be made aware of this... and it has to change.
The third area that our foundation would like to address is increased funding for the tremendous financial challenge of bringing Next Generation Technologies and procedures on line.
In my home state of Florida, we pay a mere 50 cents per month, per phone line for 9-1-1 services.
I am confident that if the general public was aware of all the issues we are addressing today, they would willingly pay more.
Our fourth area of concern is quality assurance.
I know that many of your agencies have quality assurance procedures in place.
But we have heard from many industry people from around the country that analysis of how calls are handled and dispatched only occur after a tragic outcome.
There needs to be an ongoing, automatic random review of calls.
It would be a valuable opportunity for continuing education and training to correct errors before they result in a tragedy.
Our fifth area of focus is cell phone location.
It is hard to say that this area of focus may be the most important as all of these items have tremendous life saving potential.
But clearly the ability to know exact location of the mobile phone making the call to 9-1-1 for help would potentially save thousands of lives annually.
This is an issue that is baffling to us and most of the general public.
This is an issue that frustrates most of the people in this room.
We, as outsiders to the industry have very basic knowledge of Enhanced 9-1-1 and basic knowledge of locating a phone caller through triangulation calculations.
This seems to be time consuming, labor intensive, and obsolete information if, as in my wife's case, an abduction is happening in a moving vehicle.
Do the calculations have to be continually revised? My wife, Denise, was somehow able to make a 911 call during her abduction using her killers cell phone. She was able to keep the line open for 7 minutes before he realized what she had done. I know Denise thought that if she could keep the line open, the police would be able to trace her location and save her.
I have a little Garmin GPS screen on my dashboard that I can activate and watch my car on a detailed map, travel down the highway.
It seems to be incredibly accurate down to a few feet and displays all of the names of the approaching streets.
In my area of Southwest Florida, I live on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico.
I can hop in my friend's fishing boat for a day of grouper fishing, plug in a few GPS coordinates and head out into this vast marine wilderness of some 615,000 sq miles and find a pre-programmed reef site of maybe 30 feet across, 30 miles off the coast, where we can catch grouper all day.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
WE CAN'T FIND A CELL PHONE WHEN SOMEONE DIALS 9-1-1?
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
The members of our foundation who are here this week need your thoughts and opinions on this issue.
I can’t think of any greater opportunity to save lives than to be able to locate a person in distress that uses their cell phone to dial 9-1-1.
Tell us where the difficulties lie. Help us understand the challenges of this critical issue from your perspective.
I mentioned in the beginning that I would like to challenge your thinking on a different way to bring improvements and changes to the 9-1-1 system.
Once again, it appears to this outsider, as this industry transitions into a Next Generation Framework, there are some amazing challenges pertaining to funding, technology, training, etc…
Again, public perception of the industry is very different than the reality.
It takes the public to urge their politicians to enact laws for adequate funding and standardized procedures.
It appears to me that the industry is woefully under-funded and unprepared to utilize the new communication technologies being brought to market today for consumer purchase.
This is a huge public safety issue.
If the public was aware of this fact they would demand that the 9-1-1 system be provided with adequate funds to fully staff the centers with motivated, compassionate and appropriately paid personnel.
They would demand the center be outfitted with the tools needed to process today’s technologies.
They would demand that policies, procedures and technologies be in place to reduce the opportunity for human error.
I submit to you,... that this public outcry for improvements to the 9-1-1 system will happen at a far more rapid rate by publicizing and focusing on the mishaps in the industry as opposed to the success stories of lives saved.
I don’t know how many of you saw the Dr. Phil show that Mr. Charles Cullen and I were featured on.
And, I know many of you cringed as you watched an hour of these painful stories.
But, if you looked at the message board on Dr. Phil’s website, you would have seen that show generated more comments than almost any show aired during that 2 or 3 week timeframe.
The Dateline NBC episode featuring our tragedy was the #1 story on the Dateline website for 6 weeks.
That’s what this industry needs.
That’s the kind of public reaction and outrage that will drive public policy for change.
EMBRACE IT.
The stories of talented call takers and dispatchers who provide calming directions to a father to help birth his son or daughter are heart warming. And these 911 workers need to be recognized and rewarded. I think of these stories as being miraculous and applaud them.
But I wonder if these stories are not counter-productive to raising public awareness of the shortfalls in funding that, I am sure all of you agree, are facing this industry.
If the public just sees these “feel good” stories, they will feel no urgent need to approve an additional fee on their phone bill to improve a 9-1-1 system that appears to have no problems or challenges.
Let me tell you what The Denise Amber Lee Foundation is doing to prove this theory.
Unfortunately, in our home state of Florida, there are no shortages of 9-1-1 tragedies.
Our initiative in Florida is to build a database of these tragic instances and identify the Florida legislators who represent the victims in those legislative districts.
These legislators are willing soldiers in the fight for mandatory training, increased funding and other issues that need addressing in the state’s 9-1-1 system.
It becomes political suicide to oppose changing the system that may have contributed to the death of one of their constituents.
For those cold-hearted legislators who still don’t feel the need to act, the press is more than willing to publicize their opposition.
My father recently contacted New York Assemblyman David Koon for his advice on making changes to Florida’s laws.
He came across Assemblyman Koon’s story on the E-911 Institute’s website.
Mr. Koon’s daughter, Jennifer, was abducted from a suburban mall parking lot in 1993 and murdered.
Mr. Koon was aware of Denise’s story.
When he heard the pain and disgust in my father’s voice, he also heard the dedication and commitment to do something about it.
Mr. Koon offered his heartfelt condolences and then chuckled and said “I know exactly what you’re feeling and get ready for an education in politics.”
He said, you need to set up meetings with legislators in Tallahassee and appeal to their sense of compassion, fairness, and doing what is right.
And if that doesn’t work be prepared to get in their face and start yelling and screaming.
He went on to say; “Don’t underestimate the power of threats.
Tell him or her that if they won’t support this legislation, you will run against them in the next election and take their seat.”
And he was saying this from experience….This is exactly how Assemblyman Koon’s political career started.
When he asked a local official to have security cameras installed in the parking lot where his daughter was abducted, he was told no.
That local official lost the following election to.... Mr. David Koon. Thus began his political career.
One of Mr. Koon’s legislative priorities was full funding of E-911 in New York State.
His daughter made a 9-1-1 call during her abduction ordeal but, although the call lasted 20 minutes, 9-1-1 dispatchers were unable to locate her.
E-911 was not fully implemented as late as 2003 because of opposition of then governor, George Pataki.
When 4 teenagers in a row boat on Long Island Sound died because no one could locate their position after a call for help to 9-1-1, Assemblyman Koon went on state TV and called Governor Pataki a murderer for not signing this legislation.
The next time the legislation came before the governor, it was promptly signed.
When John Walsh’s son, Adam was abducted, he and his wife assumed that the FBI would come swooping in immediately to catch the bad guy and return their son.
What they found out was shocking to them.
The FBI could look for stolen automobiles but was not authorized to look for stolen children.
To their further amazement was the fact that there was no national database to keep track of the over 150,000 child abduction cases each year.
The shocking reality of their story brought much needed attention to this issue and was instrumental in the passage of The Missing Children’s Act and the establishment of the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children.
Let me give you just a couple other examples where these tragedies energized society and policy makers in a positive way for change.
In 1996, 9 year old Amber Hagerman was abducted while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas.
Four days after the abduction, her body was found in a drainage ditch.
Her parents, with the help of Marc Klaas, whose own daughter Polly had been abducted and murdered in 1993, soon established People Against Sex Offenders.
The intense media coverage and public outrage this case generated forced Congress to draft the Amber Hagerman Child Protection Act which was eventually signed into law in 1996 by President Clinton.
Of course this led to the very successful Amber Alert System that we are all familiar with today.
And this last example, unfortunately, again comes from my home state of Florida.
Jessica Lunsford was a young girl in Florida who was raped and murdered by John Couey, a convicted sex offender.
Couey lived just a few hundred yards from the Lunsford home.
Public outrage over this case spurred Florida officials to introduce and pass “Jessica’s Law.”
This is the informal name given to a law designed to punish sex offenders by imposing a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and lifetime electronic monitoring.
These are just a few, of the many examples of the power of these tragic events.
These are examples of where rapid change occurred as a result of the good people in society, rallying around cause, brought to their attention by media coverage of a tragedy.
As I wrap up my presentation here today let me reiterate that you and I know that these tragedies are truly a small percentage of all calls made to 9-1-1 every year.
I don’t have the statistics but I am sure some of you do.
But I want you to consider that this very small percentage can have a huge... positive impact on this industry if it can be channeled and focused in a responsible way.
You are on the front lines of one of the noblest causes there is; saving of human lives.
You are compassionate and dedicated people who do your best under stressful situations.
The French novelist Victor Hugo once said;
“Greater than the threat of mighty armies is an idea whose time has come.”
I truly feel that the time has come for the dedicated, committed members of this industry to embrace this idea as a powerful weapon for change.
The Denise Amber Lee Foundation wants to position itself at the forefront of this issue.
We want to not only provide comfort and support to the families of victims but also to provide hope…
That their loved one didn’t die in vain.
We want to give them an outlet and an avenue to channel their pain, anguish, and yes; sometimes anger to bring about changes and improvements to this essential service.
We envision a partnership with 9-1-1 industry members and responsible media to drive change to public policy.
It is true that media tends to sensationalize these stories to boost ratings but isn’t this what we want?....
As many people as possible to see the senseless and sometimes tragic outcomes resulting from the lack of funding that would allow you to better train and equip your 9-1-1 Communication Centers?
I have to tell you that the media has shown true compassion to us during our tragedy and seem genuine in their offers of assistance to help us anyway they can.
I want to again thank CalNENA for this opportunity.
We are excited and looking forward to the next couple of days and we are energized for this cause.
I would urge all of you to visit our website at www.DeniseAmberLee.org and we welcome all comments and suggestions and finally let me leave you with this:..
The 18th century Irish political leader and author, Edmund Burke, once said
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
I have seen the evil in our society but I have also seen the good;
and I have enough faith in human nature to predict that if people knew about the problems and challenges of this industry
AND the sometimes horrifying consequences of its failures, they would do something to stop it.
Thank you and God Bless you for your service.
BTW Mark wrote the speech.
Here's it is:
CalNENA Speech 2009
Good morning everyone.
I want to first say how honored I am to be asked to speak to this group of dedicated public servants.
In my eyes, you truly are the first line of defense for our Homeland Security.
What I would like to talk about today is to first tell you about the Denise Amber Lee Foundation that I started in honor and memory of my wonderful wife and second;
I would like to challenge your thinking on a different way to bring about changes and improvements to your industry.
There are 4 of us from the foundation here this week for the conference.
We hope to target several gatherings like this, this year to learn as much as we can.
We are not experts by any stretch of the imagination.
But we are energized and intensely motivated to do whatever we can to prevent any other family from experiencing the pain and heartbreak that we have suffered.
The famous anthropologist, Margaret Mead, once said:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
So we are here this week to talk to as many of you as possible, to take in the trade show and listen to how you feel we should best be focusing our efforts to make a difference.
As you saw in the introductory video, many opportunities were lost that day to save Denise.
It is not my intent to vilify an industry and a system that failed her that day.
Make no mistake about it; it was a monster named Michael King who murdered my wife.
But when you look closely at the procedural breakdowns and miscommunication of vital information that occurred in that one 9-1-1 Call Center in Florida that night, you can’t help but be outraged.
There is no doubt in my mind that Denise would be alive today if vital information wasn’t grossly mishandled that evening!
And, indeed, over the ensuing months after Denise’s death, we heard from thousands of people from around the world who were outraged.
Many of the most memorable letters and emails that we received were surprising to us, from people in this industry.
We could feel the genuine compassion in those letters for our tragic loss.
We received this touching email from Geoff Weiss, training supervisor for the San Diego Sheriff’s Department.
He wrote....... “Last Thursday I taught my first class since last being in email contact with you.
Although the class was about an unrelated dispatch topic, as promised I took about 30 minutes of it to discuss the story of Denise.
I played the opening Dateline NBC 9 minute piece prior to going on our first break.
Later in the day, I finally played the conclusion..... Nate.... after the video finished I turned around to address my class of 31 dispatchers throughout the state of California and was struck by a chill of emotion as I saw half of them were in tears.
I walked back up to the front of the room, swallowed back the lump in my throat and said, “Remember why you took this job.
Remember what a critical role you play every day in public safety.”
Captain Josh Mindick Special Services Commander of the Boca Raton Florida Police Department wrote this......
“Mr. Lee, as a law enforcement professional, Commander of a 9-1-1 center, father, and husband, I watched Dateline NBC in a stoic silence.
I ordered every Telecommunicator, Police Officer and Firefighter who works in our 9-1-1 center to attend a training block on this tragedy.
It will be watched from Day 1 for new hires so that they will understand the tremendous responsibility that comes with the career they are about to undertake.
During our first session, every one of them was in tears at one point or another during the video.
It is important for my people to hear what the families had to say.
They need to realize the impact that they can make on the outcome of a call for service.”
And he finished with........ “I think they got it!”
Since Denise was the daughter of a detective of the sheriff’s office, a trust fund was set up for the community to donate to our family.
The outpouring from the community was overwhelming. College funds were set up for my two sons, Adam and Noah.
An anonymous donor picked up the tab for the entire funeral.
I knew at this point that I had to do something to give back to the community.
So on June 8th last year, I formed the Denise Amber Lee Foundation.
I wanted to raise funds so that I could help families who experienced similar tragedies but didn’t have the enormous backing of the community like I had enjoyed.
I wanted to set-up trust funds for these families, maybe pay for funerals or help with their debts.
I’m sure many of you are aware of Kevin Willett's group at 911cares.com that provides comfort and support to members of the 9-1-1 community experiencing tragedy.
I think that is an absolutely wonderful idea.
That is what I want to provide for families experiencing tragedies from the shortcomings and inefficiencies of the 9-1-1 system.
The Denise Amber Lee Foundation also is chartered to raise public awareness of 9-1-1 issues and to promote solutions.
I started the foundation with $15,000 of money donated to our family and we are now aggressively seeking donations and sponsorships to carry out our mission.
The largest community foundation in Florida soon partnered with us in our cause. The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice brings their considerable resources and influences to our disposal. In this past legislative session of the Florida legislature, Denise’s father, Detective Rick Goff and myself were called to Tallahassee to support pending legislation for a first ever training standard for 9-1-1 call takers and dispatchers.
Unfortunately, it was an unfunded and voluntary bill, although a great first step.
(Insert Nathan’s account of the event.)
Several legislators are ready to sponsor legislation in the coming session of the Florida legislature to make this training mandatory......
This is what keeps me going.....
This is my motivation....
Helen Keller was once quoted as saying....
“Many persons have a wrong idea of true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
Most of you are familiar with the tragic circumstances of TV’s Americas Most Wanted host, John Walsh.
His 6 year old son Adam was kidnapped and brutally murdered in Florida in 1981.
In his book “Tears of Rage,” Mr. Walsh writes;
“People who haven’t been hit by crime can still enjoy what my wife and I call ‘the luxury of being naïve.’
They go around thinking that it could never happen to them. I envy those people; I truly do.
They don’t know any better.
They don’t understand that, once it happens to you, everything changes, every tiny aspect of your life.
And even though you may look the same on the outside and maybe acting the same way; on the inside you’re coming from a totally different place.”
He continues “To us, even back in the early days, our most basic understanding was always unspoken: Adam cannot have died in vain.
If we had not gone on to do what we eventually did, we would have remained as we were: two grief stricken hand wringing parents who other people looked at and felt sorry for.
But we both came to believe that if you are given the opportunity to change things, then how can you at least not try?”
It has only been 9 months since we started the Denise Amber Lee Foundation but we have had our successes.
Everyone has heard the saying “Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees.”
That saying means when you are involved with all of the small details, it’s hard to see the larger picture.
I feel that is one of our advantages. We don't know the details.
Our concept of 9-1-1, and I think shared by most of the general public, is that you dial 9-1-1 and help arrives fast.
In our pursuit of seeing how we can make a difference, we have taken a more in depth look at how the industry works.
From our perspective of being on the outside looking in, it is crystal clear that the 9-1-1 system is a complicated, complex array of hardware, software, telecommunication networks, personnel and procedures that must all operate flawlessly for the system to work......
It is absolutely amazing to me that the system doesn’t fail more often.
The Denise Amber Lee Foundation has initially identified five areas that we would like to focus on;
Number 1 is training.
We feel that mandatory, standardized training is a must.
The best technology in the world is useless if call takers and dispatchers aren’t trained properly on its use.
Many of you who saw the Dateline and Primetime episodes on Denise’s case know that those shows focused on the mishandled 9-1-1 call from a citizen hero, Jane Kowalski.
Believe me, if you study the Internal Affairs Investigation of that night you will see many other mistakes from lack of training and improper procedures.
It is not my intent to speak on those errors today but if anyone is interested in those details, please see one of us this week and we will be happy to disclose those to you.
From the many emails we have received, mandatory training appears to be a goal of many of you in the industry as well.
The second area of focus for our foundation is appropriate compensation for call takers and dispatchers.
We have discovered that some jurisdictions in this country have starting salaries as low as $10.50/hour for call takers.... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
(here Nathan ad libs and talks about working at Best Buy selling televisions. He points out how much he makes, which is substantially more than call takers and dispatchers in certain areas. He makes a point that he doesn't save lives.)
In emergency services it is hard to say that one link in the chain is more important than another.
Everyone agrees that the call takers job is stressful and at times heart wrenching as they try and console a hysterical caller.
Everyone agrees that if this initial contact with the caller in need of assistance isn’t handled appropriately, it doesn’t matter how good the rest of the chain is, it is going to fail and a tragedy could be the result. If not for the trained and efficient call takers and dispatchers; police would not be able to prevent the rape and murder of a young mother; fire fighters would not be able to recue a child from a burning building and EMTs would not be able reach an accident victim in time to provide life saving first aid.
In an industry where employee retention is an issue, how can we attract dedicated, compassionate, and career minded workers; ask them to endure the stress and undergo the hours and hours of training necessary to perform their duties efficiently for $10.50/hour?
We can’t.
The public has to be made aware of this... and it has to change.
The third area that our foundation would like to address is increased funding for the tremendous financial challenge of bringing Next Generation Technologies and procedures on line.
In my home state of Florida, we pay a mere 50 cents per month, per phone line for 9-1-1 services.
I am confident that if the general public was aware of all the issues we are addressing today, they would willingly pay more.
Our fourth area of concern is quality assurance.
I know that many of your agencies have quality assurance procedures in place.
But we have heard from many industry people from around the country that analysis of how calls are handled and dispatched only occur after a tragic outcome.
There needs to be an ongoing, automatic random review of calls.
It would be a valuable opportunity for continuing education and training to correct errors before they result in a tragedy.
Our fifth area of focus is cell phone location.
It is hard to say that this area of focus may be the most important as all of these items have tremendous life saving potential.
But clearly the ability to know exact location of the mobile phone making the call to 9-1-1 for help would potentially save thousands of lives annually.
This is an issue that is baffling to us and most of the general public.
This is an issue that frustrates most of the people in this room.
We, as outsiders to the industry have very basic knowledge of Enhanced 9-1-1 and basic knowledge of locating a phone caller through triangulation calculations.
This seems to be time consuming, labor intensive, and obsolete information if, as in my wife's case, an abduction is happening in a moving vehicle.
Do the calculations have to be continually revised? My wife, Denise, was somehow able to make a 911 call during her abduction using her killers cell phone. She was able to keep the line open for 7 minutes before he realized what she had done. I know Denise thought that if she could keep the line open, the police would be able to trace her location and save her.
I have a little Garmin GPS screen on my dashboard that I can activate and watch my car on a detailed map, travel down the highway.
It seems to be incredibly accurate down to a few feet and displays all of the names of the approaching streets.
In my area of Southwest Florida, I live on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico.
I can hop in my friend's fishing boat for a day of grouper fishing, plug in a few GPS coordinates and head out into this vast marine wilderness of some 615,000 sq miles and find a pre-programmed reef site of maybe 30 feet across, 30 miles off the coast, where we can catch grouper all day.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
WE CAN'T FIND A CELL PHONE WHEN SOMEONE DIALS 9-1-1?
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
The members of our foundation who are here this week need your thoughts and opinions on this issue.
I can’t think of any greater opportunity to save lives than to be able to locate a person in distress that uses their cell phone to dial 9-1-1.
Tell us where the difficulties lie. Help us understand the challenges of this critical issue from your perspective.
I mentioned in the beginning that I would like to challenge your thinking on a different way to bring improvements and changes to the 9-1-1 system.
Once again, it appears to this outsider, as this industry transitions into a Next Generation Framework, there are some amazing challenges pertaining to funding, technology, training, etc…
Again, public perception of the industry is very different than the reality.
It takes the public to urge their politicians to enact laws for adequate funding and standardized procedures.
It appears to me that the industry is woefully under-funded and unprepared to utilize the new communication technologies being brought to market today for consumer purchase.
This is a huge public safety issue.
If the public was aware of this fact they would demand that the 9-1-1 system be provided with adequate funds to fully staff the centers with motivated, compassionate and appropriately paid personnel.
They would demand the center be outfitted with the tools needed to process today’s technologies.
They would demand that policies, procedures and technologies be in place to reduce the opportunity for human error.
I submit to you,... that this public outcry for improvements to the 9-1-1 system will happen at a far more rapid rate by publicizing and focusing on the mishaps in the industry as opposed to the success stories of lives saved.
I don’t know how many of you saw the Dr. Phil show that Mr. Charles Cullen and I were featured on.
And, I know many of you cringed as you watched an hour of these painful stories.
But, if you looked at the message board on Dr. Phil’s website, you would have seen that show generated more comments than almost any show aired during that 2 or 3 week timeframe.
The Dateline NBC episode featuring our tragedy was the #1 story on the Dateline website for 6 weeks.
That’s what this industry needs.
That’s the kind of public reaction and outrage that will drive public policy for change.
EMBRACE IT.
The stories of talented call takers and dispatchers who provide calming directions to a father to help birth his son or daughter are heart warming. And these 911 workers need to be recognized and rewarded. I think of these stories as being miraculous and applaud them.
But I wonder if these stories are not counter-productive to raising public awareness of the shortfalls in funding that, I am sure all of you agree, are facing this industry.
If the public just sees these “feel good” stories, they will feel no urgent need to approve an additional fee on their phone bill to improve a 9-1-1 system that appears to have no problems or challenges.
Let me tell you what The Denise Amber Lee Foundation is doing to prove this theory.
Unfortunately, in our home state of Florida, there are no shortages of 9-1-1 tragedies.
Our initiative in Florida is to build a database of these tragic instances and identify the Florida legislators who represent the victims in those legislative districts.
These legislators are willing soldiers in the fight for mandatory training, increased funding and other issues that need addressing in the state’s 9-1-1 system.
It becomes political suicide to oppose changing the system that may have contributed to the death of one of their constituents.
For those cold-hearted legislators who still don’t feel the need to act, the press is more than willing to publicize their opposition.
My father recently contacted New York Assemblyman David Koon for his advice on making changes to Florida’s laws.
He came across Assemblyman Koon’s story on the E-911 Institute’s website.
Mr. Koon’s daughter, Jennifer, was abducted from a suburban mall parking lot in 1993 and murdered.
Mr. Koon was aware of Denise’s story.
When he heard the pain and disgust in my father’s voice, he also heard the dedication and commitment to do something about it.
Mr. Koon offered his heartfelt condolences and then chuckled and said “I know exactly what you’re feeling and get ready for an education in politics.”
He said, you need to set up meetings with legislators in Tallahassee and appeal to their sense of compassion, fairness, and doing what is right.
And if that doesn’t work be prepared to get in their face and start yelling and screaming.
He went on to say; “Don’t underestimate the power of threats.
Tell him or her that if they won’t support this legislation, you will run against them in the next election and take their seat.”
And he was saying this from experience….This is exactly how Assemblyman Koon’s political career started.
When he asked a local official to have security cameras installed in the parking lot where his daughter was abducted, he was told no.
That local official lost the following election to.... Mr. David Koon. Thus began his political career.
One of Mr. Koon’s legislative priorities was full funding of E-911 in New York State.
His daughter made a 9-1-1 call during her abduction ordeal but, although the call lasted 20 minutes, 9-1-1 dispatchers were unable to locate her.
E-911 was not fully implemented as late as 2003 because of opposition of then governor, George Pataki.
When 4 teenagers in a row boat on Long Island Sound died because no one could locate their position after a call for help to 9-1-1, Assemblyman Koon went on state TV and called Governor Pataki a murderer for not signing this legislation.
The next time the legislation came before the governor, it was promptly signed.
When John Walsh’s son, Adam was abducted, he and his wife assumed that the FBI would come swooping in immediately to catch the bad guy and return their son.
What they found out was shocking to them.
The FBI could look for stolen automobiles but was not authorized to look for stolen children.
To their further amazement was the fact that there was no national database to keep track of the over 150,000 child abduction cases each year.
The shocking reality of their story brought much needed attention to this issue and was instrumental in the passage of The Missing Children’s Act and the establishment of the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children.
Let me give you just a couple other examples where these tragedies energized society and policy makers in a positive way for change.
In 1996, 9 year old Amber Hagerman was abducted while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas.
Four days after the abduction, her body was found in a drainage ditch.
Her parents, with the help of Marc Klaas, whose own daughter Polly had been abducted and murdered in 1993, soon established People Against Sex Offenders.
The intense media coverage and public outrage this case generated forced Congress to draft the Amber Hagerman Child Protection Act which was eventually signed into law in 1996 by President Clinton.
Of course this led to the very successful Amber Alert System that we are all familiar with today.
And this last example, unfortunately, again comes from my home state of Florida.
Jessica Lunsford was a young girl in Florida who was raped and murdered by John Couey, a convicted sex offender.
Couey lived just a few hundred yards from the Lunsford home.
Public outrage over this case spurred Florida officials to introduce and pass “Jessica’s Law.”
This is the informal name given to a law designed to punish sex offenders by imposing a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and lifetime electronic monitoring.
These are just a few, of the many examples of the power of these tragic events.
These are examples of where rapid change occurred as a result of the good people in society, rallying around cause, brought to their attention by media coverage of a tragedy.
As I wrap up my presentation here today let me reiterate that you and I know that these tragedies are truly a small percentage of all calls made to 9-1-1 every year.
I don’t have the statistics but I am sure some of you do.
But I want you to consider that this very small percentage can have a huge... positive impact on this industry if it can be channeled and focused in a responsible way.
You are on the front lines of one of the noblest causes there is; saving of human lives.
You are compassionate and dedicated people who do your best under stressful situations.
The French novelist Victor Hugo once said;
“Greater than the threat of mighty armies is an idea whose time has come.”
I truly feel that the time has come for the dedicated, committed members of this industry to embrace this idea as a powerful weapon for change.
The Denise Amber Lee Foundation wants to position itself at the forefront of this issue.
We want to not only provide comfort and support to the families of victims but also to provide hope…
That their loved one didn’t die in vain.
We want to give them an outlet and an avenue to channel their pain, anguish, and yes; sometimes anger to bring about changes and improvements to this essential service.
We envision a partnership with 9-1-1 industry members and responsible media to drive change to public policy.
It is true that media tends to sensationalize these stories to boost ratings but isn’t this what we want?....
As many people as possible to see the senseless and sometimes tragic outcomes resulting from the lack of funding that would allow you to better train and equip your 9-1-1 Communication Centers?
I have to tell you that the media has shown true compassion to us during our tragedy and seem genuine in their offers of assistance to help us anyway they can.
I want to again thank CalNENA for this opportunity.
We are excited and looking forward to the next couple of days and we are energized for this cause.
I would urge all of you to visit our website at www.DeniseAmberLee.org and we welcome all comments and suggestions and finally let me leave you with this:..
The 18th century Irish political leader and author, Edmund Burke, once said
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
I have seen the evil in our society but I have also seen the good;
and I have enough faith in human nature to predict that if people knew about the problems and challenges of this industry
AND the sometimes horrifying consequences of its failures, they would do something to stop it.
Thank you and God Bless you for your service.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Mark and Nate
Are heading out to San Diego as I type.
Pray they fly safe. I know it seems a little over the top but I truly am worried about them. Before Denise died I wouldn't normally be this nervous. But since she died I don't think anything can shock me.
Anyhow, I'm so excited for Nathan and I'm very proud of him. Nathan, Mark, Dave Dignam of Key Agency and David Garofalo a North Port City Commissioner flew out there together to represent the Denise Amber Lee Foundation. They are going to the CalNENA convention where Nathan is slated to be the keynote speaker.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with NENA it stands for National Emergency Number Association. And the "Cal", of course, refers to California.
Many people in California have been in touch with Nathan and Mark since Denise's tragedy. We have received mail and emails from all over the world and as far away as Australia (thinking of you Mark S and Tracie H).
California's support has been overwhelming. Apparently they are doing all they can to continually improve their 9-1-1 system. Nathan's speech is to last close to 40 minutes along with an introductory video about Denise and what went wrong.
Nathan's been practicing his speech at our local church that seats 1,000. He believes he'll be speaking to 600 9-1-1 industry persons. I'm so proud of him and I know Denise would be too. He does so well. This is the kind of stuff that keeps him going.
The babies keep him going but..... this is quite different. We're all simply doing our best to see that Denise's tragedy didn't happen in vain.
The creep/murderer/rapist killed Denise but the flaws in our local 9-1-1 center directly led to her death. She would've been saved.
For those of you who don't know, Denise somehow managed to call 9-1-1 using the Michael King's cellphone. For 7 (seven) minutes Michael King didn't realize that 9-1-1 was on the line and they could hear Denise pretending as if she's talking to him. Saying things like "I can't see!" "Who are you?" "Please take me home to my babies. They are alone!" "My name is Denise Amber Lee" etc.... Then tragically he realized he couldn't find his phone and the call was abruptly ended. Because Denise had 9-1-1 on the cell phone for 7 minutes we believe she thought she was going to be found. Sadly, the technology that could have saved her is available but it's not being used. With more and more people using cell phones, we believe it's imperative they put inexpensive GPS units in all cell phones. The thing is it's not that expensive.
I've blogged enough about what happened in the Charlotte County's 9-1-1 center. That will all come out one day I'm sure. If you're interested and don't know the details I've posted them previously. They messed up royally in many many ways. They had a caller on the line giving cross streets but they didn't dispatch a car! Oh, I won't go there. And they seemingly ignored 3 crucial BOLOs. (Be On the Look Outs).
So, yes, we believe that better training, better pay for a better quality personnel, better standards and using leading edge technology in our 9-1-1 centers will definitely save lives. There are too many tragedies.
Right now Florida residents are paying 50 cents per month on their cell phone bills for 9-1-1 service. Gee, who wouldn't pay a $1 more? $12 more a year for life insurance.
Also, the general public needs to know what works and what doesn't work.
Now I'm writing a speech. After he gives his speech on Tuesday, I'll ask him if I can print it here for y'all to see.
I'm going to miss Mark. I don't like being without him. I miss him already:o(
Pray they fly safe. I know it seems a little over the top but I truly am worried about them. Before Denise died I wouldn't normally be this nervous. But since she died I don't think anything can shock me.
Anyhow, I'm so excited for Nathan and I'm very proud of him. Nathan, Mark, Dave Dignam of Key Agency and David Garofalo a North Port City Commissioner flew out there together to represent the Denise Amber Lee Foundation. They are going to the CalNENA convention where Nathan is slated to be the keynote speaker.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with NENA it stands for National Emergency Number Association. And the "Cal", of course, refers to California.
Many people in California have been in touch with Nathan and Mark since Denise's tragedy. We have received mail and emails from all over the world and as far away as Australia (thinking of you Mark S and Tracie H).
California's support has been overwhelming. Apparently they are doing all they can to continually improve their 9-1-1 system. Nathan's speech is to last close to 40 minutes along with an introductory video about Denise and what went wrong.
Nathan's been practicing his speech at our local church that seats 1,000. He believes he'll be speaking to 600 9-1-1 industry persons. I'm so proud of him and I know Denise would be too. He does so well. This is the kind of stuff that keeps him going.
The babies keep him going but..... this is quite different. We're all simply doing our best to see that Denise's tragedy didn't happen in vain.
The creep/murderer/rapist killed Denise but the flaws in our local 9-1-1 center directly led to her death. She would've been saved.
For those of you who don't know, Denise somehow managed to call 9-1-1 using the Michael King's cellphone. For 7 (seven) minutes Michael King didn't realize that 9-1-1 was on the line and they could hear Denise pretending as if she's talking to him. Saying things like "I can't see!" "Who are you?" "Please take me home to my babies. They are alone!" "My name is Denise Amber Lee" etc.... Then tragically he realized he couldn't find his phone and the call was abruptly ended. Because Denise had 9-1-1 on the cell phone for 7 minutes we believe she thought she was going to be found. Sadly, the technology that could have saved her is available but it's not being used. With more and more people using cell phones, we believe it's imperative they put inexpensive GPS units in all cell phones. The thing is it's not that expensive.
I've blogged enough about what happened in the Charlotte County's 9-1-1 center. That will all come out one day I'm sure. If you're interested and don't know the details I've posted them previously. They messed up royally in many many ways. They had a caller on the line giving cross streets but they didn't dispatch a car! Oh, I won't go there. And they seemingly ignored 3 crucial BOLOs. (Be On the Look Outs).
So, yes, we believe that better training, better pay for a better quality personnel, better standards and using leading edge technology in our 9-1-1 centers will definitely save lives. There are too many tragedies.
Right now Florida residents are paying 50 cents per month on their cell phone bills for 9-1-1 service. Gee, who wouldn't pay a $1 more? $12 more a year for life insurance.
Also, the general public needs to know what works and what doesn't work.
Now I'm writing a speech. After he gives his speech on Tuesday, I'll ask him if I can print it here for y'all to see.
I'm going to miss Mark. I don't like being without him. I miss him already:o(
Monday, February 2, 2009
Denise Amber Lee Foundation and 9-1-1 reform
We're making some major headway, IMO, in improving things or at least in bringing about awareness of some of the issues involving 9-1-1 inefficiencies. Who's responsible for all this headway? And who is going to continue the fight? And should'nt we all be on the same team?
Tonight this was aired by Ron Filipkowski on his show Clout941 with his guest, our good friend and foundation member City Commissioner of North Port David Garofalo:
http://www.clout941.com/
I hated to see Mr Filipkowski take such a stab at Zac Anderson. Yes, I agree 100% with Mr Filipkowski that it was in truth insinuated that all this 9-1-1 reform attention, specifically by Rep Roberson, was a result of Zac's series of articles. In Zac's latest article, he seemed to be patting himself on the back. And he made no mention of the angels in blue, the Denise Amber Lee Foundation and the efforts that Nathan and his father-in-law, Rick have been making. We've been working on this reform for a year. My husband, Mark, has spent endless hours in studying the state of the 9-1-1 industry across the country. I can't begin to list all the people involved who have helped us by not only educating us but by supporting us. There are even people who are working behind the scenes that I can't name due to their job security.
Anyhow, IMHO, we all need to stay on the same side and not attack people who are helping the cause. And Zac's series of articles did help.
Who cares if Zac patted himself on the back? Maybe he did'nt realize he was doing it. He's done a great deal for us writing that series of articles and I guarantee you it didn't make him many friends in the 9-1-1 industry. Reading the comments on the Herald Tribune website......... Whew! I say this kiddingly, but if Zac were to call 9-1-1......... I think he'd get an earful.
Again, I just think we need not get on him for this. There are plenty of people who will get ahead simply by being involved with the Foundation and 9-1-1 reform. They will win fans, voters and supporters whether they are journalists or politicians. Some will be sincere in helping us and others will use it as a stepping stool. I believe Zac is sincerely concerned about the state of our 9-1-1 system in Florida. If he gets to use a few steps to move up a ladder, good for him! Those same people will lose fans and voters. The main thing is we fix the problems where needed.
And if that series of articles earns Zac an award or two, then hey! Great! That's even better because it'll put the series of articles in the news again! They may even get national attention and not just by 9-1-1 dispatchers.
I understand what Mr Filipkowski was saying. Zac should've mentioned the Foundation, Rick, Nate, Paige Kreegel and countless others. Maybe by "making him weasel of the week" Zac will be sure to mention everyone who has been working so hard.
I do want to thank Mr Filipkowski very much for bringing more awareness to the Foundation by talking about it tonight on his show.
Also, there is no better spokesperson for us, other than maybe Nate, than David Garofalo!
Aside to David if you read this: WOW! You were great!!! Go North Port!
Tonight this was aired by Ron Filipkowski on his show Clout941 with his guest, our good friend and foundation member City Commissioner of North Port David Garofalo:
http://www.clout941.com/
I hated to see Mr Filipkowski take such a stab at Zac Anderson. Yes, I agree 100% with Mr Filipkowski that it was in truth insinuated that all this 9-1-1 reform attention, specifically by Rep Roberson, was a result of Zac's series of articles. In Zac's latest article, he seemed to be patting himself on the back. And he made no mention of the angels in blue, the Denise Amber Lee Foundation and the efforts that Nathan and his father-in-law, Rick have been making. We've been working on this reform for a year. My husband, Mark, has spent endless hours in studying the state of the 9-1-1 industry across the country. I can't begin to list all the people involved who have helped us by not only educating us but by supporting us. There are even people who are working behind the scenes that I can't name due to their job security.
Anyhow, IMHO, we all need to stay on the same side and not attack people who are helping the cause. And Zac's series of articles did help.
Who cares if Zac patted himself on the back? Maybe he did'nt realize he was doing it. He's done a great deal for us writing that series of articles and I guarantee you it didn't make him many friends in the 9-1-1 industry. Reading the comments on the Herald Tribune website......... Whew! I say this kiddingly, but if Zac were to call 9-1-1......... I think he'd get an earful.
Again, I just think we need not get on him for this. There are plenty of people who will get ahead simply by being involved with the Foundation and 9-1-1 reform. They will win fans, voters and supporters whether they are journalists or politicians. Some will be sincere in helping us and others will use it as a stepping stool. I believe Zac is sincerely concerned about the state of our 9-1-1 system in Florida. If he gets to use a few steps to move up a ladder, good for him! Those same people will lose fans and voters. The main thing is we fix the problems where needed.
And if that series of articles earns Zac an award or two, then hey! Great! That's even better because it'll put the series of articles in the news again! They may even get national attention and not just by 9-1-1 dispatchers.
I understand what Mr Filipkowski was saying. Zac should've mentioned the Foundation, Rick, Nate, Paige Kreegel and countless others. Maybe by "making him weasel of the week" Zac will be sure to mention everyone who has been working so hard.
I do want to thank Mr Filipkowski very much for bringing more awareness to the Foundation by talking about it tonight on his show.
Also, there is no better spokesperson for us, other than maybe Nate, than David Garofalo!
Aside to David if you read this: WOW! You were great!!! Go North Port!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Today's Herald Tribune "Bill Aims To Raise the Bar for 911"
A couple of comments about this article. I wish they would have mentioned the foundation's work this past year. There is no mention of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation. This is what we've been lobbying for and we've been lobbying over a year. This is what the fundraisers are about. The golf tournament, the Family Fun Day, the Poinsettia Parade etc...... I really believe that all should've been mentioned. But........
The Herald Tribune has somehow taken total credit and failed to recognize all the many people who have helped us and have been working on this. That's bothersome. But, still, I shouldn't complain. At least, they are working on getting the story out there. I have to commend them for that.
Today's Herald Tribune Article
Bill aims to raise bar for 911
After Herald-Tribune series, a push for uniform, mandatory training
By Zac Anderson
Published: Friday, January 30, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 11:27 p.m.
For the first time, Florida's 911 operators would receive uniform, mandatory training and would have to be state certified before taking emergency calls if legislation being drafted by several Florida lawmakers is introduced and approved this year.
The lawmakers announced their plans days after the Herald-Tribune published the results of a six-month investigation into failures of the 911 system statewide.
The newspaper found that hundreds of 911 errors threaten lives every year. In some cases, call takers send help to the wrong address, fall asleep on the job or simply forget to send help at all.
Despite repeated errors, Florida lags far behind most other states in training and oversight because state officials have taken on virtually no regulation of the state's more than 250 call centers.
Each 911 center sets its own training standards, a practice that means some call takers train for months while others are directing emergency response just days after being hired.
The bill being written by state Rep. Ken Roberson, R-Port Charlotte, would change that, making a voluntary 911 training program mandatory and requiring state certification for all 911 employees.
"We need mandatory rules," Roberson said. "Everybody should have the same standard."
Roberson has won support from several key legislators, including Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, who agreed last week to file a companion bill in the Senate.
State Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, one of the three most powerful House members and a must-have vote for any legislation, said Wednesday he supports the bill because citizens need confidence in the 911 system.
"In general I'm not a big proponent of mandates. But this is one, in my opinion, that will ultimately save lives," Galvano said.
Galvano said he was prepared to take on the Florida Police Chief's Association and the Florida Sheriff's Association, which have lobbied against mandatory 911 training standards because of concerns about the cost. It is unclear how much the new requirements would cost.
"I will say to them that we have an obligation to do everything we can to make sure this isn't an unfunded mandate, Galvano said. "But they have to realize what a high priority this is."
Amy Mercer, executive director of the Florida Police Chief's Association, declined to comment on the 911 bill until it is filed.
Roberson's bill would not address all of the challenges facing Florida's 911 centers.
The Herald-Tribune investigation found that beyond lax training requirements, most 911 centers do a poor job of tracking and investigating errors. In addition, error-prone 911 employees can rack up mistake after mistake and keep their jobs. Some 911 operators were allowed to botch a dozen or more calls before being fired.
Pay remains low, and stress and absenteeism high. As a result, many 911 centers are plagued by high turnover. Some lose 75 percent of new hires with a year, ensuring a steady stream of inexperienced call takers to direct the state's emergency responders.
But if the bill becomes law, Florida's training standards would go from among the weakest in the nation to among the strongest. All 911 employees would be required to complete a 208-hour basic training course before receiving a state certification to work as a 911 call taker. Agencies that already offer such training could apply to have their program certified as state-approved. Dispatchers with at least five years of experience would automatically qualify for certification.
Certification would mean that every 911 worker has a basic level of training. In addition, the state could revoke a 911 worker's certification, although currently it is not clear whether that would end a dispatcher's career or what criteria would be used to revoke certifications.
The state's 911 centers would likely have a few years to get everyone certified, Roberson said. He said he will also look for money to help local governments pay for the additional training.
Southwest Florida lawmakers began contemplating more state oversight of 911 centers a year ago, after confusion and errors made at the Charlotte County 911 center cost law enforcement a crucial opportunity to save the life of a 21-year-old North Port woman.
That woman, Denise Amber Lee, was kidnapped from her home, raped and buried in a shallow grave. When a woman saw Lee struggling with her kidnapper, she called 911, but no police officers were sent to check on the report and Lee was killed a short time later.
When the 911 mistakes were revealed, lawmakers pushed through a bill calling for voluntary training for 911 employees. But with no funding and no requirements, experts say, the bill did not lead to improved standards.
Denise Lee's widow, Nate Lee, said this week that making training standards mandatory is a first step.
"I'm excited about this training, I'll be up in Tallahassee lobbying for it," Nate Lee said. But "the whole 911 system needs another look. The state of Florida deserves better."
Roberson said he has been contemplating mandatory requirements for some time and the Herald-Tribune investigation cemented his decision.
"Public safety has to be a priority," Roberson said. "If firefighters need state training, and police officers, so should 911 operators."
The Herald Tribune has somehow taken total credit and failed to recognize all the many people who have helped us and have been working on this. That's bothersome. But, still, I shouldn't complain. At least, they are working on getting the story out there. I have to commend them for that.
Today's Herald Tribune Article
Bill aims to raise bar for 911
After Herald-Tribune series, a push for uniform, mandatory training
By Zac Anderson
Published: Friday, January 30, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 11:27 p.m.
For the first time, Florida's 911 operators would receive uniform, mandatory training and would have to be state certified before taking emergency calls if legislation being drafted by several Florida lawmakers is introduced and approved this year.
The lawmakers announced their plans days after the Herald-Tribune published the results of a six-month investigation into failures of the 911 system statewide.
The newspaper found that hundreds of 911 errors threaten lives every year. In some cases, call takers send help to the wrong address, fall asleep on the job or simply forget to send help at all.
Despite repeated errors, Florida lags far behind most other states in training and oversight because state officials have taken on virtually no regulation of the state's more than 250 call centers.
Each 911 center sets its own training standards, a practice that means some call takers train for months while others are directing emergency response just days after being hired.
The bill being written by state Rep. Ken Roberson, R-Port Charlotte, would change that, making a voluntary 911 training program mandatory and requiring state certification for all 911 employees.
"We need mandatory rules," Roberson said. "Everybody should have the same standard."
Roberson has won support from several key legislators, including Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, who agreed last week to file a companion bill in the Senate.
State Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, one of the three most powerful House members and a must-have vote for any legislation, said Wednesday he supports the bill because citizens need confidence in the 911 system.
"In general I'm not a big proponent of mandates. But this is one, in my opinion, that will ultimately save lives," Galvano said.
Galvano said he was prepared to take on the Florida Police Chief's Association and the Florida Sheriff's Association, which have lobbied against mandatory 911 training standards because of concerns about the cost. It is unclear how much the new requirements would cost.
"I will say to them that we have an obligation to do everything we can to make sure this isn't an unfunded mandate, Galvano said. "But they have to realize what a high priority this is."
Amy Mercer, executive director of the Florida Police Chief's Association, declined to comment on the 911 bill until it is filed.
Roberson's bill would not address all of the challenges facing Florida's 911 centers.
The Herald-Tribune investigation found that beyond lax training requirements, most 911 centers do a poor job of tracking and investigating errors. In addition, error-prone 911 employees can rack up mistake after mistake and keep their jobs. Some 911 operators were allowed to botch a dozen or more calls before being fired.
Pay remains low, and stress and absenteeism high. As a result, many 911 centers are plagued by high turnover. Some lose 75 percent of new hires with a year, ensuring a steady stream of inexperienced call takers to direct the state's emergency responders.
But if the bill becomes law, Florida's training standards would go from among the weakest in the nation to among the strongest. All 911 employees would be required to complete a 208-hour basic training course before receiving a state certification to work as a 911 call taker. Agencies that already offer such training could apply to have their program certified as state-approved. Dispatchers with at least five years of experience would automatically qualify for certification.
Certification would mean that every 911 worker has a basic level of training. In addition, the state could revoke a 911 worker's certification, although currently it is not clear whether that would end a dispatcher's career or what criteria would be used to revoke certifications.
The state's 911 centers would likely have a few years to get everyone certified, Roberson said. He said he will also look for money to help local governments pay for the additional training.
Southwest Florida lawmakers began contemplating more state oversight of 911 centers a year ago, after confusion and errors made at the Charlotte County 911 center cost law enforcement a crucial opportunity to save the life of a 21-year-old North Port woman.
That woman, Denise Amber Lee, was kidnapped from her home, raped and buried in a shallow grave. When a woman saw Lee struggling with her kidnapper, she called 911, but no police officers were sent to check on the report and Lee was killed a short time later.
When the 911 mistakes were revealed, lawmakers pushed through a bill calling for voluntary training for 911 employees. But with no funding and no requirements, experts say, the bill did not lead to improved standards.
Denise Lee's widow, Nate Lee, said this week that making training standards mandatory is a first step.
"I'm excited about this training, I'll be up in Tallahassee lobbying for it," Nate Lee said. But "the whole 911 system needs another look. The state of Florida deserves better."
Roberson said he has been contemplating mandatory requirements for some time and the Herald-Tribune investigation cemented his decision.
"Public safety has to be a priority," Roberson said. "If firefighters need state training, and police officers, so should 911 operators."
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
911: Setting the standard in Lee County and beyond! Beginning the trend of 9-1-1 standards.
OMgosh! I'm so excited!!!!
Things are starting to happen!
I'm so overwhelmed with tears right now. Gosh, I just want to hug Lee County officials and all the other 9-1-1 training centers who attended!!!!! Oh, God bless you for stepping up!
I don't know how to embed the video but here's a link from WinkNews!! But reading the article is much better. There's more to the article than to the video, IMO.
video:
http://www.winknews.com/news/local/38500094.html
article:
911: Setting the standard in Lee County and beyond
By WINK News
Story Created: Jan 27, 2009 at 6:50 PM EST
Story Updated: Jan 27, 2009 at 7:16 PM EST
LEE COUNTY, Fla. - A group of 911 trainers from counties across Florida met for the first time in Lee County Tuesday to work toward mandatory training and certification for dispatchers statewide. They're starting with their own agencies.
Police officers and fire fighters are certified, so they ask...why not them?"
We're the ones that are taking the calls from the hostage takers, from the suicidal individuals, we're taking calls from shooting victims...whatever tragedy is going on that time, that is the life of a 911 operator," said Chris Hodges, 911 Training Coordinator for the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
The Denise Amber Lee Act, which passed last year, set the standard for state-wide certification. Right now though, the standard is only voluntary. The Act is named for a murdered North Port mother.
An investigation revealed information that could have possibly lead deputies to Lee, was never passed on by dispatchers in Charlotte County.
A stronger version of the Denise Amber Lee Act would make the certification standards mandatory. It's expected to be considered by Florida lawmakers during the upcoming Legislative Session.
But, Hodges says Lee County is already one step ahead.
"We're looking at it as mandatory. Everybody in our communications center will be state certified, voluntary or not. Everybody will go through certification," she explained. She says the goal is to have all dispatchers who qualify to be certified by the end of the year."
Everybody needs to go back to their training programs, look at their standards, make sure we're up to standard and also open the channel of communication and resource sharing between the agencies," Hodges went on to say.
The trainers represented agencies from as far north as Ocala down to the Keys.
Natalie Duran, with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department says she looks forward to the day when someone can call 911 from any county in Florida and expect the person on the other line to have the same level of standardized training."
It's wonderful to think every time I cross over from one county to the other, the dispatcher that picks up the phone that everyone of them understands the information I need, they will ask me the same type of questions and they will provide me with the same type of service," said Duran.
Things are starting to happen!
I'm so overwhelmed with tears right now. Gosh, I just want to hug Lee County officials and all the other 9-1-1 training centers who attended!!!!! Oh, God bless you for stepping up!
I don't know how to embed the video but here's a link from WinkNews!! But reading the article is much better. There's more to the article than to the video, IMO.
video:
http://www.winknews.com/news/local/38500094.html
article:
911: Setting the standard in Lee County and beyond
By WINK News
Story Created: Jan 27, 2009 at 6:50 PM EST
Story Updated: Jan 27, 2009 at 7:16 PM EST
LEE COUNTY, Fla. - A group of 911 trainers from counties across Florida met for the first time in Lee County Tuesday to work toward mandatory training and certification for dispatchers statewide. They're starting with their own agencies.
Police officers and fire fighters are certified, so they ask...why not them?"
We're the ones that are taking the calls from the hostage takers, from the suicidal individuals, we're taking calls from shooting victims...whatever tragedy is going on that time, that is the life of a 911 operator," said Chris Hodges, 911 Training Coordinator for the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
The Denise Amber Lee Act, which passed last year, set the standard for state-wide certification. Right now though, the standard is only voluntary. The Act is named for a murdered North Port mother.
An investigation revealed information that could have possibly lead deputies to Lee, was never passed on by dispatchers in Charlotte County.
A stronger version of the Denise Amber Lee Act would make the certification standards mandatory. It's expected to be considered by Florida lawmakers during the upcoming Legislative Session.
But, Hodges says Lee County is already one step ahead.
"We're looking at it as mandatory. Everybody in our communications center will be state certified, voluntary or not. Everybody will go through certification," she explained. She says the goal is to have all dispatchers who qualify to be certified by the end of the year."
Everybody needs to go back to their training programs, look at their standards, make sure we're up to standard and also open the channel of communication and resource sharing between the agencies," Hodges went on to say.
The trainers represented agencies from as far north as Ocala down to the Keys.
Natalie Duran, with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department says she looks forward to the day when someone can call 911 from any county in Florida and expect the person on the other line to have the same level of standardized training."
It's wonderful to think every time I cross over from one county to the other, the dispatcher that picks up the phone that everyone of them understands the information I need, they will ask me the same type of questions and they will provide me with the same type of service," said Duran.
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