By: Tammy Waitt
Public safety deserves a technology solution that also operates as a true partner to combat the industry’s biggest challenges. Mark43 is here to provide superior innovation, resiliency, security, interoperability, accessibility, and value so that you can focus on what matters most: serving your communities.
Mark43, the 2024 Platinum ‘ASTORS’ Award Champion for Best Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Recovery Solution, announced the results of a survey of Massachusetts residents.
The survey revealed significant concerns with safety and emergency response due to cyberattacks, natural disasters, and legacy systems.
Most Massachusetts residents call for public safety technology upgrades to address their concerns, ensure resilience in emergencies, and better protect their communities.
“Massachusetts residents are concerned about the impact that ever-increasing natural disasters and cyberattacks are having on emergency response efforts and legacy public safety systems,” according to Matthew Polega, Co-founder and President of Mark43.
“They clearly expressed demand for modern, cloud-native, secure, and redundant public safety systems that enable working and reporting from any location using mobile devices.
“Such systems provide failover and maximize uptime, allowing users to spend more time in their communities doing the work they intended and that their constituents expect and deserve.
“The concerns of Massachusetts residents and their proposed solutions align with Mark43’s mission to empower communities and their governments with new technologies that improve the safety and quality of life for all.”
Survey results below affirm that Massachusetts residents worry about safety at significant public events and the impact of natural disasters and cyberattacks on emergency response operations.
- Massachusetts residents are concerned about the ever-increasing number of natural disasters caused by climate change, which is affecting response time and disrupting 911 dispatching.
- Their top concerns are power outages (58%) and dangerous road conditions (47%). Compared to 2023 national general population data, Massachusetts residents are more concerned than the general U.S. population about dangerous road conditions caused by natural disasters.
- More than half (53%) of MA residents fear cyberattacks could affect their local first responders’ duties, and 60% worry most about emergency systems going down and affecting 911 response times.
- This reinforces the need for a strong cybersecurity focus for their local first responders to help keep data safe.
- As malicious actors increase yearly, Massachusetts residents fear man-made disasters like cyberattacks (70.8%).
- Nearly all (93%) of Massachusetts residents admit that they would be at least somewhat or extremely concerned if their local first responders were using outdated technology.
- First responders across the nation agree – a near-total majority (93%) believe the general public would feel better if their local public safety agencies were required to adhere to federal cybersecurity standards.
- Unfortunately, outdated technology is too often deployed, and this response reveals a strong demand for modern public safety systems.
- Over one-third (38%) of Massachusetts residents fear their local first responders aren’t keeping records appropriately and confidentially due to unsecured systems that are at risk of data breaches and that first responders easily lose important data when returning to the station for reporting duties.
- Legacy systems create unnecessary risks, which modern records management systems can easily mitigate.
(Public safety deserves a technology solution that also operates as a true partner to combat the industry’s biggest challenges. See how Mark43 provides superior innovation, resiliency, security, interoperability, accessibility, and value so that you can focus on what matters most: serving your communities. Courtesy of Mark43 and YouTube.)
As evidenced below, Massachusetts residents overwhelmingly demand upgrading public safety systems to ensure resilience in emergencies and better protect their communities.
- As climate change results in a drastic uptick in natural disasters, nearly all (92%) of Massachusetts residents want their local police department to have modern tech systems to handle emergencies.
- Most (82%) of Massachusetts residents want more funding for their local public safety agency to upgrade technology systems.
- Similarly, 83% support their local first responders investing in technology that could help save time, enabling them to spend more time engaging with the community.
- Modern cloud-native public safety platforms streamline reporting and enable officers to work and file reports from anywhere.
- Rather than returning to the office to do paperwork, officers lose time they could spend in their communities.
- Modern dispatch systems also allow dispatchers to work from anywhere if a natural disaster or a down on-premises system prevents them from working in the office.
(Hear from Kathleen O’Toole, former Boston Police Commissioner, and Seattle Police Chief, about today’s law enforcement challenges and how Mark43 was able to ‘hit the mark’ for her department in Seattle. Courtesy of Mark43 and YouTube.)
The top four technology upgrades that Massachusetts residents want for their first responders are as follows:
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- Dispatching software that pinpoints the exact location of the 911 caller (65.6%).
- Modern records management systems allow first responders to access updated, real-time information (64.7%).
- Backup computer-aided dispatch systems, which enable dispatchers to continue their work if their main systems go down (63.9%).
- Mobile apps that let officers use their mobile devices to fill out reports and access information from anywhere (54.2%).
- When respondents were asked whether they would want their local public safety agency to have a backup emergency dispatch system in place if any primary, regional, or statewide systems went down, 92% said yes, and 86% said it would make them feel safer.
(Hear from WSMV on Nashville’s 911 center choosing Mark43 Alternate CAD two years after the Christmas Day bombing. “Currently, when the CAD goes down at the center, the backup is a sheet of paper. Dispatchers must record each call by hand, at times logging 100 calls an hour. Now, if it goes down, the Mark43 system will kick in.” Courtesy of Mark43 and YouTube.)
Mark43, a leading cloud-native public safety technology company, is proud to work with public safety partners across Massachusetts, including the Boston, Holyoke, Falmouth, Weymouth, West Springfield police departments, the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office, and other agencies.
By delivering a modern, intuitive, and mobile-first Records Management System, Computer-Aided Dispatch, and Analytics platform, Mark43 empowers governments and their communities to improve the safety and quality of life for all.
Working with more than 250 local, state, and federal public safety agencies, Mark43 transforms how first responders use technology to respond to, engage with, and serve the community by providing the tools, resources, expertise, and security foundation that public safety needs today, tomorrow, and beyond.
To learn more or to request a demo, please visit www.mark43.com.
Original Story: https://americansecuritytoday.com/ma-boomers-call-for-public-safety-tech-upgrades-for-safety-resilience/
