Posts

What Does COVID-19 Mean for Smart Cities?

Danilo Gargiulo,
Cities may have been among the hardest hit areas in the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the United Nations, nearly 90 percent of reported COVID-19 cases have been centered around urban areas. During the pandemic, many major cities have seen…
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How to Successfully Pull Off a Remote Training During COVID-19

Captain Dan Zdybek and Deputy Ryan Sottile,
Public safety agencies are feeling the impacts of COVID-19 in many areas, including how we train our employees on new technologies. For Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, we had to change our initial plans around in-person training for our new…
How Can Collaboration Drive Faster Emergency Response

How Can Collaboration Drive Faster Emergency Response?

Dan Whipple,
The City of Seattle is known for its lush scenery and a cityscape bisected by several waterways. Bridges are often the primary lifelines connecting different parts of the city. In an emergency, it is critical these lifelines are available to…
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Working from Home When Working for the Government: Tips for Success

Danilo Gargiulo,
Telework has always been broadcast as the way of the future. However, up until a few months ago, few companies took advantage of teleworking as a solution for their personnel. Since the coronavirus (COVID-19) swept the nation earlier this…
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How to Budget for a “What If?”

Danilo Gargiulo,
Budgeting can be among one of the most stressful tasks for any organization as a variety of unknowns must be accounted for in the planning process. It can be especially tedious for municipalities and state governments that must follow strict…

Why You Should Start Preparing for the Next Emergency Now

Don Pinkston,
While much of the country’s attention has been held captive by the COVID-19 crisis, the severe-weather summer months are just around the corner. Hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires are expected to increase in frequency and magnitude. What does that mean for municipalities and how can they prep for the next emergency while in the middle of another?

Using Analytics and Data Visualization in the Fight Against a Pandemic

Kristin Meitzler,
Washington State had the first diagnosed case of COVID-19 in the country, and it hit us pretty hard right from the get-go, particularly in the Puget Sound area. Valley Communications 911 provides dispatching services for twenty-four police,…

The Key to Building Strong Community Relations in a Crisis

Sergeant Matthew Botkin,
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unique circumstances most generations have never experienced before. Previously, when law enforcement used the term “shelter in place,” it typically involved an active shooter or ongoing violent situation.…

How Local Governments Can Weather the Financial Storm

Todd Dooley,
It’s too early to predict what the long-term changes stemming from COVID-19 will look like for local municipalities and the nation at large. However, one thing is certain to be true for whatever the new normal brings. From a macro perspective,…

How Rhode Island State Police is Using Tech to Tackle the Opioid Epidemic

Captain Matthew Moynihan,
Rhode Island State Police has sought innovative ways to combat the opioid crisis that's devastating the nation. They might have found one. Read the article by Rhode Island State Police Captain Matthew Moynihan.