The September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 spurred a pivotal change in the way the U.S. approaches preparedness for threats to the homeland. In recognition of National Preparedness Month, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory showcases how national laboratories address homeland security threats by developing the technology and other resources first responders need to combat those threats.
From natural disasters to sophisticated cyberthreats, the risks to public safety are evolving fast. As unexpected events can strike at any moment, the systems designed to protect people – 911 call centers – face unprecedented challenges. Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the landscape by increasing efficiencies and risks. Learn about the benefits and challenges AI-driven 911 systems pose for communities.
Preparing for any special event includes many unknowns. When an event involves national security, the stakes are even higher. Public safety agencies have been sharing their lessons learned and providing recommendations to prepare the nation for the upcoming election events. Read some of the takeaways they shared at the D.C. Interoperability Summit.
Disasters inherently come with known and unknown threats. One looming emerging threat is human trafficking because traffickers capitalize on the vulnerability these events create to exploit victims. However, when properly trained, emergency management and disaster responders are uniquely positioned to identify, prevent, and mitigate exploitation before and after an emergency.
Public engagement and participation involve community members in problem-solving, decision-making, and policy development. This article shares some new practices for creating actionable opportunities for key stakeholders to participate in decisions that affect their communities. Result-centered engagement can help protect people with disabilities and other community partners from many adverse impacts of emergencies.
New human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza have been confirmed in the United States. Although most cases like this do not escalate to pandemic status, it is critical that communities be better prepared than they were for COVID-19. However, one study shows that preparedness gaps may hinder these efforts.
Addressing children’s needs during a crisis can be challenging. Leveraging social media to create crisis communication campaigns can be an effective way to boost community outreach efforts and raise awareness of the unique needs children have in disaster planning and response. Successful social media campaigns by governmental and non-governmental organizations can change attitudes and behaviors for the benefit of the entire community.
As drone technology continues to evolve, it is important for law enforcement and other first responder agencies to understand the range of possible applications and physical and legal limitations of these tools. This article highlights the uses that save lives and time during incidents.
The eight major elements of Community Lifelines use traffic-light-type color-coding to categorize the adverse impact status of a disaster. The article’s author has applied this same system to the recovery efforts following the Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland. Learn how he applied this information-gathering tool to an ongoing recovery effort.
Effective incident management is a set of activities, not policy box-ticking of doctrine that may or may not be followed. A new free toolkit based on five key domains can help incident management teams assess and improve their effectiveness regardless of the incident, incident management team, and policy doctrine members of that team are using.
The September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 spurred a pivotal change in the way the U.S. approaches preparedness for threats to the homeland. In recognition of National Preparedness Month, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory showcases how national laboratories address homeland security threats by developing the technology and other resources first responders need to combat those threats. 
From natural disasters to sophisticated cyberthreats, the risks to public safety are evolving fast. As unexpected events can strike at any moment, the systems designed to protect people – 911 call centers – face unprecedented challenges. Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the landscape by increasing efficiencies and risks. Learn about the benefits and challenges AI-driven 911 systems pose for communities. 
Preparing for any special event includes many unknowns. When an event involves national security, the stakes are even higher. Public safety agencies have been sharing their lessons learned and providing recommendations to prepare the nation for the upcoming election events. Read some of the takeaways they shared at the D.C. Interoperability Summit. 
Disasters inherently come with known and unknown threats. One looming emerging threat is human trafficking because traffickers capitalize on the vulnerability these events create to exploit victims. However, when properly trained, emergency management and disaster responders are uniquely positioned to identify, prevent, and mitigate exploitation before and after an emergency. 
Public engagement and participation involve community members in problem-solving, decision-making, and policy development. This article shares some new practices for creating actionable opportunities for key stakeholders to participate in decisions that affect their communities. Result-centered engagement can help protect people with disabilities and other community partners from many adverse impacts of emergencies. 
New human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza have been confirmed in the United States. Although most cases like this do not escalate to pandemic status, it is critical that communities be better prepared than they were for COVID-19. However, one study shows that preparedness gaps may hinder these efforts. 
Addressing children’s needs during a crisis can be challenging. Leveraging social media to create crisis communication campaigns can be an effective way to boost community outreach efforts and raise awareness of the unique needs children have in disaster planning and response. Successful social media campaigns by governmental and non-governmental organizations can change attitudes and behaviors for the benefit of the entire community. 
As drone technology continues to evolve, it is important for law enforcement and other first responder agencies to understand the range of possible applications and physical and legal limitations of these tools. This article highlights the uses that save lives and time during incidents. 
The eight major elements of Community Lifelines use traffic-light-type color-coding to categorize the adverse impact status of a disaster. The article’s author has applied this same system to the recovery efforts following the Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland. Learn how he applied this information-gathering tool to an ongoing recovery effort. 
Effective incident management is a set of activities, not policy box-ticking of doctrine that may or may not be followed. A new free toolkit based on five key domains can help incident management teams assess and improve their effectiveness regardless of the incident, incident management team, and policy doctrine members of that team are using. 