Kristin McKinney

In 2018, President Trump signed the national Suicide Hotline Improvement Act into law. The purpose of the act was to research and identify if the creation of a 3-digit number for the National Suicidal Prevention Lifeline would be worth the time, effort, and cost. In August of 2019, the FCC released their findings in a […]

Every 9-1-1 telecommunicator knows that communication is an important part of any crisis. The coronavirus pandemic has made that clearer than ever, especially when considering the number of rumors and false reports circulating the web. How does an agency ensure it is delivering concise, accurate, and timely information to its relevant audiences? It’s important to

We get a lot of questions about how much 911 costs and where the financing comes from. Do citizens pay for 911? Do taxes? How do officials determine how much goes toward an emergency number program when they also have to consider other aspects of public safety? We wanted to clear some things up on

Being active in your community is an important part of a public safety professional’s job. Protecting and serving also means being present at community events and caring about the citizens’ day-to-day activities and wanting to be a part of it all. But how do you show that commitment when community events have been cancelled and

Can you text 9-1-1? There are very few people out there who know that text-to-9-1-1 is an option, but we’re not surprised. Texting 9-1-1 is a relatively new feature in the industry (hard to believe, but true) and it’s fairly advanced technology for most public safety answering points (PSAPs or 9-1-1 call centers). The North

The announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of questions to go unanswered, but your local governments and agencies are doing their best to get you useful resources. We’ve put together a resource page for our communities to help you get access to the vital information you and your loved ones need. Emergency

In December of 2013, Kari Hunt Dunn was stabbed to death by her husband in a motel room in east Texas. Her 9-year-old daughter repeatedly tried dialing 9-1-1, but the motel phone required “9” to be dialed to reach any outside line, including emergency services. This event launched Kari’s Law, which requires all organizations or