PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 21 to 24, 2017 -- DHS S&T First Responders Group (FRG) will showcase technologies that increase first responder safety and effectiveness at the 2017 IACP Annual Meeting held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. FRG works to strengthen the first responder community’s ability to protect the homeland and respond to disasters. In addition to our panels below, visit us in booth #1656 for demonstrations on how advanced technologies help mitigate risks, drive efficiencies, and improve decision-making.
Protecting our Protectors: Technology and Training to Advance Officer Safety
Saturday, Oct. 21 from 01:30 p.m. to 03:00 p.m.
Room 202AB
One of the National Institute of Justice’s priorities is to use science to advance officer safety and consistently contribute to improvements in protective equipment and technology through science. This panel will explore the latest research on officer safety, including:
- An overview of an evaluation of an effective vehicle safety program for sworn law enforcement
- A description of lessons learned in vehicle marking and lighting schemes that increase officer safety and visibility on the road
- An understanding of next generation technology for first responders and implications for officer safety moving forward
- An overview of standards improvements for ballistic resistant equipment
Got Comms? Identifying, Locating and Mitigating Jamming
Monday, Oct. 23 from 12:30 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.
The Hub, Booth #2525
Compromised communications known as illegal jamming, can prevent officers calling for backup or taking down onscene communications. It can also disable tech that uses cellular, WiFi, or GPS -- making it hard to tell if something is wrong. Officers assume equipment is broken, rather than identify the interference as an attack. While electronic jammers are illegal to buy, manufacture, and operate, jamming is a real homeland security threat. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate is researching this issue and hosting exercises to assess technologies and tactics, which is helping police face threats. Come learn about the symptoms and prepare your agency!
Booth Activities
- Don’t miss opportunities to participate in interactive training demonstrations on Enhanced Dynamic Geo-Social Environment (EDGE), which is a multiplayer, scalable, online environment that trains responders -- single agencies or cross-agency, jurisdiction, or discipline -- for a coordinated response to active shooter incidents. It is now available to first responders nationwide at no cost. Built on the Unreal gaming engine, EDGE allows responders to collaboratively role-play complex scenarios in a virtual environment, improving coordination and communication, while mitigating injuries and the loss of lives.
- Come learn about the First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise -- a multi-agency operational exercise to evaluate the effects of illegal, commercial-grade jamming devices on first responder communications, and to test technologies and tactics that can help first responders identify, locate and mitigate the impact of jamming. The July 2017 exercise built upon the results of the 2016 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise held last summer. FRG is currently working to develop tools to help first responders recognize, respond to, report and resolve jamming incidents.