Vendor Releases Public-Safety Awareness Survey on NECP (10/26/09)
CDW Government released a report that found only half of public-safety communications professionals are familiar with the National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP), released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last year.
The report, 2009 Emergency Communications Report: Awareness and Progress Toward the National Emergency Communications Plan, benchmarks progress toward meeting the goals outlined in NECP, identifies key challenges and highlights lessons learned.
Once briefed on NECP’s goals, 93 percent said the plan has the potential to address their communications issues. About 28 percent of respondents experienced a communications challenge during the past year that hampered a response effort, and 61 percent said the ability to achieve and sustain seamless communications across jurisdictions and agencies is their No. 1 challenge to providing timely and effective emergency services.
CDW-G’s national online survey, conducted during August, collected responses from 210 state and local emergency communications professionals in 41 states. The margin of error for the total sample is ±6.76 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.
The NECP, published in 2008, recommends a multifaceted approach to strengthening emergency communications capabilities nationwide, focusing on technology, coordination, governance, planning and training at all levels of government. It sets the following goals:
• By 2010, 90 percent of all high-risk urban areas designated within the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) are able to demonstrate response-level emergency communications within one hour for routine events involving multiple jurisdictions and agencies;
• By 2011, 75 percent of non-UASI jurisdictions are able to demonstrate response-level emergency communications within one hour for routine events involving multiple jurisdictions and agencies;
• By 2013, 75 percent of all jurisdictions are able to demonstrate response-level emergency communications within three hours, in the event of a significant incident as outlined in national planning scenarios.
Despite low initial awareness of the NECP, public-safety communications professionals indicate the goals are achievable. Nearly 75 percent said they will meet the 2013 target timeline for demonstrating response-level emergency communications for significant incidents. Still, many agencies and jurisdictions do not have formal plans to meet the NECP goals. Just 46 percent of respondents familiar with the NECP said they have written plans in place to meet the NECP goals.
“The NECP has the potential to address public-safety communications problems, but to be successful, all jurisdictions and agencies must embrace the NECP goals and work to achieve them,” said CDW-G Vice President Bob Kirby. “Every day, communities across the United States are affected by communications challenges — inability to communicate across agencies, across jurisdictions, during routine events and during significant incidents. Formal plans to meet the NECP goals, backed by training, cross-agency and cross-jurisdiction collaboration, and technology infrastructure, can speed emergency response and save lives.”
CDW is a provider of technology products and services for business, government and education.
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