Building a voice or data communications system that enables public safety to communicate with each other and share information within and across jurisdictions and disciplines—whether during mission-critical events or in daily operations—is a complex and costly effort.
To help organizations better tackle interoperable communications projects, SEARCH first developed the Law Enforcement Tech Guide for Communications Interoperability: A Guide for Interagency Communications Projects in 2006. We are pleased to announce the August 2013 publication of a revised and updated second edition, which is available from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).
This comprehensive, user-friendly guide provides strategies, best practices, and recommendations for public safety agencies seeking to develop or expand interagency communications projects. It explores technologies in voice and data communications, and provides planning tools to help achieve interoperable communication and information sharing initiatives.
The revised 2nd edition addresses some significant technological and policy changes that have occurred in the past 7 years. These include the growth of the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), the introduction of statewide communications interoperability plans (SCIPs), the emergence of the National Broadband Plan and the National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP), developments in Communications Unit Leaders (COML) training, SAFECOM Standard Operating Procedures, and the P25 Compliance Assessment Program. These changes can help agencies plan and implement effective interagency communications technologies and were therefore included in the Guide’s update.
The 2006 edition of this Tech Guide was written by former SEARCH staff Dan Hawkins, with the 2013 revisions prepared by Bonnie B. Maney, SEARCH Public Safety Training Manager/Information Sharing Specialist, and Mallorie Teubner, former SEARCH staff. Both editions of this Tech Guide are endorsed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFECOM program.
The Communications Interoperability Tech Guide serves as a companion to the COPS-funded Law Enforcement Tech Guide: How to plan, purchase and manage technology (successfully!), A Guide for Executives, Managers and Technologists. A series of five Tech Guides prepared by SEARCH under COPS Office funding are available for download.