By Kassondra O’Hara, Communications Training Officer, Troy Police Department

For anyone who has worked in an emergency communications center for any length of time, it is generally understood that overtime, shift work, working holidays and weekends and dealing with periods of short staffing is a way of life. Even during the rare moments that a center is fully staffed, the long hours, call-ins and time away from family can be stressful to even the most dedicated of employees. This stress often results in low morale, burnout and health problems.

What about when the dreaded term “understaffed” is being used to describe your agency? In an age where it seems like communication centers across the country are continuously understaffed, the need for trainable personnel who meet the high standards of the job and the retention of current employees is on the top of every center manager’s list. What can communication center supervisors do to effectively operate a center that does not have the needed personnel in an already stressful environment?

Preventing burnout

Communication center supervisors need to make it a priority to prevent burnout. Preventing burnout will improve morale and ultimately deter more unfilled positions in the future.

The first step in preventing burnout is examining and recognizing the causes. Burnout is a physical and emotional breakdown of an employee that over time can result in pessimism and detachment. Common indicators include:

• Anxiety
  
• Depression
• Exhaustion
• Insomnia or difficulty sleeping
• Anger
• Loss of appetite
• Difficulty concentrating
• Headaches
• Gastrointestinal issues
• Difficulty breathing
  

Recognizing these signs and acting before employees are completely overwhelmed is one of the most important roles that a supervisor can take on.

Educating employees on what they can do personally to prevent overstress and burnout is extremely important. Giving each dispatcher or call-taker the power to take control of their own professional path is one of the most ideal ways that a manager can help their employees.

Simple things such as reminding them that each call is different and that citizens may be concerned over things that we do not deem as important is one way to help them to continue to identify with callers and prevent emotional numbness. Allowing employees to put forth ideas and opinions that includes them in the center’s decision-making processes often gives them a feeling of being included and needed.

Over time, this will essentially boost the morale of the center. Including all levels of dispatch staff is generally the most effective. Committing time, necessary resources and encouraging positivity throughout the center are significant steps in decreasing burnout and increasing morale.

Raise morale

Speaking of raising morale throughout the communications center, this is honestly the easiest way to reduce turnover and increase employee retention and productivity. Being short staffed is enough to discourage current employees as they realize that it will at least temporarily increase their already overwhelming hours and duties. Managers need to keep in mind that bad attitudes and low morale are highly contagious.

The first step is self-reflection and improvement if necessary. A positive attitude starts at the top and will hopefully spread center-wide. By starting with themselves, communications center supervisors can positively influence and become role models for those under their command. Encouraging employees to take an active role in rediscovering their passion for the job is one of the most imperative aspects of being a communications center supervisor.   

The second step is to identify the reasons for low morale. Employees are the best people to shed light on these as they are the ones being affected. What are some of their ideas that would help to increase positivity in their center? Increases in pay, incentive programs, predictable fairness, activities outside the center, access to relevant training and progressive, expected discipline are often complaints heard by many managers. Active listening, communication, and preparedness and willingness to lead are also traits that inspire employees. 

Recognize performance

Recognition for a job well done is inherently craved by most humans, professional or otherwise. Focusing only on discipline and corrections when something is done incorrectly is the number one way to lower morale amongst employees and create a negative atmosphere in your center.

Picking out incidents that are handled very well, recognizing those employees who consistently go above and beyond their normal duties and/or commending that call-taker or dispatcher who did a phenomenal job on that major call that came in yesterday are ways to make sure that the majority of your employees strive for excellence rather than just doing what they have to in order to avoid reprimand.

Improving morale is one issue while sustaining that morale is a whole other beast. A good manager must strive to continuously take notice of their employees, recognize trends within the center that may indicate a lack of motivation, and most of all, listen.

Listening to current employees’ concerns and opinions and working to compromise or adjust when a problem presents itself is not only a manager’s responsibility, but should be their desire if they wish to be a manager of a center with a consistently high morale and productive work ethic.

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About the Author

Kassondra O’Hara is an Emergency Communications Operator at the Troy Police Department in Troy, AL and has served since 2006. She has functioned as a Communications Training Officer since 2010. She has recently become certified to train regionally through APCO and is currently serving on the IPSA Communications Committee.

By Group Mobile, an Official IPSA Supporter

First responders rely on today’s technologies. The latest hardware and software are allowing them to do their jobs more efficiently than in previous years, however, this efficiency is becoming a dependency. It is ingrained in civilians to call on first responders when crisis occurs. They're the first line of defense. Often unaware of what's going on behind the scenes, civilians expect responders to arrive quickly, take charge and work seamlessly together to resolve the situation.

When public safety systems are brought into the Internet of Things, sensors and signals push relevant information to dispatchers and fellow mobile responders so that everyone in the field can respond quickly and appropriately. To harness the power of IoT, in-vehicle connectivity is crucial. In-vehicle connectivity enables the functionality for a wide variety of first response-specific applications on multiple wireless devices. Rugged routers and mobile gateways achieve this connectivity by supporting machine-to-machine communications and connected devices.

Though agencies can expect to see extensive benefits from these devices, here is a run-down of applications most commonly used in the field. Here’s what to expect from rugged mobile gateways and routers.

Consolidated, reliable connectivity

Harsh mobile environments, where first responders are often needed, are a breeding ground for lost connectivity. Not only are obstacles like this potentially life threatening, but there usually isn't a quick fix for handling them. For instance, with consumer grade routers, the management platforms make it impossible to locate the source of the issue remotely. This means emergency vehicles are forced to go back to the station to resolve the error.

Mobile gateways and routers address this problem by providing a multi-network solution, connecting to multiple networks, switching between them in sub-second timeframes. This also leads to less modems and antennas, providing connectivity for wired ethernet, USB, and serial in-vehicle devices. Various configurations are often available for different application environments.

Safe, fast communication

The consolidated connectivity from gateways and routers also delivers secure and fast communication for dispatchers, IT teams and first responders. The 3G network often available with consumer routers causes in-vehicle application to function poorly. This increases downtime and reduces productivity. The number of networks suitable for rugged mobile gateways and routers, however, utilize IoT to also enable scalability. Not only does this improve communication in ways impossible without, but it also dramatically increases downlink speed, meaning teams have fast access to real-time data and mission critical applications, like federal criminal records and pertinent incident location data.

This improved communication is at the core of empowering first response teams to make the best decisions based off real-time information.

Reporting, alerting

First responders leverage an assortment of technologies to improve functionality and efficiency, such as body-worn cameras, license plate recognition and Bluetooth that provide geolocation capabilities. When all these technologies run through one source of connectivity, triggers send messages to nearby responders and dispatchers, ultimately creating a clear timeline of events.

Such connectivity makes it possible for dispatchers and team leads to manage rather than just track. If a police officer pulls over a speeding car, for instance, the Bluetooth in his badge will send a message to dispatchers when the officer leaves the patrol vehicle and approaches the pulled over car. Such messages put nearby responders on alert for potential triggers prompting back up. This allows emergency personnel to assist one another without the officer in need of assistance stopping what they're doing and verbally alerting those nearby.

Durability

In-vehicle mobile gateways and routers require ruggedness. They need to be built and designed to endure temperature changes, exposure to dust and sand, as well as shaking and vibrations. Improved connectivity can only perform as well as the hardware enabling it. Rugged mobile gateways and routers ensure the durability to withstand hazardous environments commonly associated with locations experiencing crisis.

Utilizing rugged mobile gateways, routers

Agencies can install routers and gateways in emergency vehicles to provide new tools for their teams to focus on the situation at hand, know when to aide nearby responders and reflect on a clear timeline after the fact. Increased connectivity, advanced communication, access to real-time data and the durability to withstand hazardous environments set rugged mobile gateways and routers apart from commercial routers.

About the Author

Group Mobile works closely with Sierra Wireless to offer the world a comprehensive offering of hardware, software and services for connected devices and machine-to-machine communications. Together, Group Mobile and Sierra Wireless provide innovative, reliable and high performing solutions. Group Mobile’s team of industry experts can assist you in selecting, designing and implementing a multi-network environment for mission-critical fleets, request a free personalized quote. Group Mobile is an official IPSA Supporter.

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By Columbia Southern University, an Official IPSA Supporter

The importance of earning a university degree, whether it is an associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate, cannot be underestimated. Aside from looking great on a resume, a degree enhances a person’s life on so many levels. Particularly when the degree is in a field that an individual seeks a career in or wants for advancement.

This applies directly to those seeking a position or advancement in emergency medical services administration. As a behind-the-scenes field for emergency medical services, EMSA is key to the management, planning, organizing and improving of emergency medical services. A degree in EMSA educates a student on the business aspects of emergency medical services and leadership skills to help direct and assign services, both in urgent and routine situations.

Hera are five things an EMSA degree do for you.

1. Expertise: Overall, the main benefit of earning a university degree is to help ensure a person’s knowledge and skills meet a certain standard of quality. Colleges and universities that offer EMSA degrees have criteria that students must meet in order to earn the degree. Those standards are meant to give a person a strong set of skills and formal training that can make them truly qualified to work in EMSA.
   
   
2. Salary: Americans with four-year college degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree. In fact, when comparing salaries, those with a high school diploma average about $35, 256 while those with a bachelor’s degree average $59,124, according to the Balance.
   
   According to the 2016 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, EMTs and paramedics earn an average salary of $32, 670 with some postsecondary education and no degree.
   
   However, a bachelor’s degree in EMSA adds to an individual’s earning potential. For example, a degree in EMSA allows a paramedic or EMT to become an EMS coordinator and earn an average salary around $52,000, according to Payscale. As a manager, this puts the individual on track for positions such as an EMS director who average about $69,158, as indicated by Payscale.
   
   
3. Academic learning: Whether you are a rookie or veteran in the EMS world, there is always a need to learn more to improve your skills and knowledge. Not to mention, the industry is always seeing change in equipment, operational methods, life-saving techniques and more. These updates and trends are vital for EMSA students to be aware of so they can stay ahead of the learning curve in the industry. A strong EMSA degree program should provide this information so that students receive current and relevant information about the degree topic.
   
   In addition to the subject matter, students taking EMSA courses are exposed to a formal level of writing and reading through academic work. As Entrepreneur magazine points out, “academic assignments develop skills that are in high demand among top employers.” From communication to collaboration to research to writing, a university education gives a student valuable skills for interaction and prosperity in the work environment.
   
   
4. Career opportunities: Those interested in pursuing a career in EMSA have various options in the fields of fire and rescue, emergency management and EMS. In addition, a degree in EMSA can lead to careers at the federal, state and local government levels and the private sector, particularly in health care.  Some administrative jobs include: EMS Coordinator, EMS Supervisor, EMS Director and Federal Emergency Management Agency Employee.
   
   While these are key positions linked to an EMSA degree, it is important to note that these are not all that are available to an enterprising student seeking administrative training in EMS.
   
   For example, paramedicine continues to grow as EMS facilities and private health care companies combine services to meet the urgent care needs of their communities. Jobs in paramedicine and related areas can be filled or created by those with an EMSA education. Enrolling in EMSA programs can gain a distinctive advantage for jobs that will be created to meet the demands of paramedicine as it expands to more cities.
   
   
5. Provide a reputable education: Reputation carries a weight in higher education, particularly when it comes to the field or industry pertaining to the degree. As mentioned above, industry recognition also plays a role in how the degree is regarded.
   
   Columbia Southern University features a staff of distinguished emergency medical professionals and EMS experts. CSU’s multidisciplinary approach in its EMSA degree program considers the administration of EMS settings and organizations to provide students with a challenging and comprehensive learning experience.
   
   To learn more about Columbia Southern University’s EMSA degree, visit ColumbiaSouthern.edu/EMSA.

About the Author

Columbia Southern University is one of the nation’s pioneer online universities. It was established in 1993 to provide an alternative to the traditional university experience. CSU offers online associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees such as business administration, criminal justice, fire administration and occupational safety and health. Visit ColumbiaSouthern.edu or call (877) 347-6050 to learn more.

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By Jennifer Brust, Senior Product Manager, Lexipol, an Official IPSA Corporate Supporter

In September 2017, fire service leaders came together for what could arguably be called the most important conference of the year. And yet, it had no hands-on training, no huge exhibit area where companies advertised their wares, and there were no bands marching through the streets.

But what was discussed over those two days has the potential to save many firefighter lives.

If you haven’t guessed it already, the event was the Fire Service Occupational Cancer Symposium in Phoenix. Sponsored by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, the event featured dedicated men and women from the fire service, academia and allied organizations sharing their expertise, research and personal stories for the common mission to reduce firefighter risk of occupational cancer.

Reducing the risk of cancer

As one of over 500 attendees, I was anxious to hear the latest research and how it could be applied to create definitive risk-reduction solutions. What did I learn? There is tremendous research going on to get to some solutions, but there are a lot of unknowns and no silver bullet. There are, however, real actions that firefighters and fire departments can take now to reduce their risk. Below are 10 key takeaways:

1. Don’t use tobacco—it’s still the #1 risk factor.
   
2. Stay on air through overhaul (and put fire inspectors on air).
   
3. Everyone in the hazard zone must be on air (think engineers). Research shows everyone in the hazard zone is exposed, not just the interior attack team.
   
4. Rehab all crews. One research study demonstrated that the roof ventilation team had higher core body temperature increase than the interior attack team.
   
5. Wash your hands before eating or using the bathroom on scene and shower after a fire.
   
6. Wash your PPE, including hoods, helmets, boots and gloves.
   
7. Keep anything from the fire scene out of the cab.
   
8. Get an annual physical.
   
9. Preplan for the day someone walks in with a diagnosis. Get connected with the Firefighter Cancer Support Network.
   
10. Establish cancer prevention policies and procedures. Communicate the expectations and enforce them in training, on the fireground and at the station.
    

Continuing research on safety

In the next few years, as more research is conducted, we can expect to see more information regarding firefighter cancer statistics, PPE cleaning procedures, effectiveness of intervention methods and more.

Just as important is the need for real compassion and support for those affected with cancer. The event highlighted ways departments can provide support and resources that individuals, families and departments can draw on.

Firefighting is a job that calls the brave and big-hearted. Now that bravery is needed to be a change agent in your organization. Have the courage to stay on air and be proud of a clean helmet. It’s not just about making it home at the end of a shift—it’s about making it home at the end of your career.

Additional information

For more information about the research that was presented at the NFFF Fire Service Occupational Cancer Symposium, feel free to contact me or the NFFF. Lexipol’s Fire Policy Solutions and Daily Training Bulletin Service provides essential policies the support firefighter health and safety, including comprehensive PPE and respiratory protection policies. Contact us today for more information or to request a free demo.

About the Author

Jen Brust is Lexipol’s Senior Product Manager for the Fire & EMS markets. Before joining Lexipol, she served as Senior Product Marketing Manager for Honeywell’s First Responder Products (formerly Morning Pride). Jen has a bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry from Albion College and a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

By M.K. Palmore, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Cyber Branch, FBI San Francisco

As an executive and someone responsible for outreach on behalf of my organization, I do a ton of talking on information security matters. I also get to see a fair amount in the post-mortem analysis of some fairly interesting technical exploits. Time and again information security practitioners and the executives they work for want to know what they should be doing to protect their enterprises.

What are cyber threat actors trying to accomplish? They are trying to get to the data and information that your agency has behind a “wall” of protection that has value to you and, therefore, can be monetized by most cyber threat actors. So, all your agency has to do is protect your enterprise from attackers, right?  Yes, in the simplest answer ever given, but there is more to it than that. 

Back to the basics

Start with the basics to protect your agency’s enterprises – at least as a starting point. I recognize this can be misleading, as the basics or fundamentals require steady adherence to principles which require qualified teams to take a systematic approach to keeping an enterprise safe from would be attackers. But, if you are great at the basics or fundamentals your agency will be in better shape than most.

In today’s market, there’s no shortage of vendor tools promising the end to your security nightmares. Some of those tools are great and likely will do some of what they promise, while others can be a fancy visual showing of an already confusing landscape.

Understanding risk management

The problem is that some practitioners and most executives have no idea what enterprise protection looks and feels like. Let’s assume your agency just approved an increase in the InfoSec budget and the CISO has promised the implementation of several controls and solutions and maybe even an event management tool to protect your enterprise. That’s all you need to do, right? While most business operations have straightforward metrics taught at every business school that shows you exactly how to calculate ROI for an investment, information security managers have various tools and templates that show a similar value; however, the problem arises in communicating these results to the c-suite.

Information security is about enterprise risk management. Most organizations have hundreds, or even thousands, of security events and probably tens/hundreds of actual security incidents all of which require some level of adherence to the incident response model (prepare, identify, contain, eradicate, recovery and lessons learned). But how much effort needs to be applied all depends on where those risk fall on your overall enterprise risk management register. 

Using proven risk methodologies, you can begin to “rack and stack” information security risks among all of your other enterprise risk issues. Your limited resources are then used to target the issues potentially causing the greatest impact and likelihood of occurrence. 

Effectively communicating risk assessments

The chasm exists when security professionals are unable to effectively communicate this delta to business leaders who then provide either a complete blanket approach to addressing InfoSec issues (expecting absolute system integrity) or they tend to guard the business treasure with angst exercising the least engagement necessary hoping upon hope that nothing happens on their watch. Happiness and effectiveness lies somewhere in between. 

The InfoSec triad of Confidentiality – Integrity – Availability is the foundation of all instruction in the security realm. From this triad flows security frameworks, system controls and every other fancy high-level control, approach and protocol in the security world. If you have a highly capable and mature security apparatus you are likely following the tenets of the triad and using a viable template, like the NIST framework, to structure your approach to InfoSec. If you are winging it, well you are probably doing a lot of things, some of which is helpful while other aspects are not. 

When I talk about the fundamentals, I’m speaking of these five areas when engaged and practiced allow you the greatest ROI (not an exhaustive list):

1. Effective patch management
2. Access and identity management
3. Effective password management – along with the use of 2FA,
4. Effective use of encryption of data at rest and in transit
5. Implementation and effective use of the commonly referenced SANS 20 security controls only to name a few  

Let’s encapsulate this in a relatively decent understanding of the cyber threat landscape and you are off to the races. If you can get to a point where these fundamentals become second nature, you will be better situated than most.

Back to the premise of this piece, I believe practitioners lose sight of the fundamentals because there’s too much noise and not enough signal on the landscape. Because of the sheer increase in our reliance on tech and all things it brings; frankly there’s just too much information coming at those expected to protect these environments. We must learn to focus on the fundamentals because it’s a darn good starting point.

About the Author

M.K. Palmore, CISSP, is a Senior Federal Law Enforcement Executive and has strong leadership and mentoring skills responsible for cybersecurity, risk management and strategic-vision creation and implementation. His skilled competencies and areas of excellence include Cybersecurity, Enterprise Risk Management, Governance & Compliance, Information Security Program Development, Digital Forensics, InfoSec Incident Response & Management, Physical Security, Executive-Protection, Crisis Response & Management, Business Continuity and Disaster Response Planning.

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By Gregory L. Walterhouse, Bowling Green State University, IPSA Member

There is no universally accepted definition of school violence. Black’s Law Dictionary defines violence as “the use of physical force usually accompanied by fury, vehemence, or outrage; especially physical force unlawfully exercised with the intent to harm.” Arrowood however advocates for an expanded definition to include any acts which might harm an individual physically, psychological or emotionally.

The Safe School Initiative Final Report found that there is no accurate or useful “profile” of students who engage in targeted school violence. And, psychologist James Garbarino of Loyola University says there is no single cause that is deterministic of criminal violence, but an accumulation of risk factors. There have been numerous studies conducted on the risk factors for individuals who have a potential to commit school violence. The purpose of this research is to synthesize the findings of these various studies in an attempt to draw an inference as to whether troubled family relationships are the genesis for these risk factors.

An overview of violence

A number of factors have been identified for individuals most at risk for committing violence. Studies have shown that males are more prone to violent behavior than females with 90 percent of deaths on school campuses the result of male perpetrators. And, shootings are frequently perpetrated by white males according to Muschert. Age is also a factor with PBS reporting the average age of school avengers being 16.  

Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General classifies violent behavior that begins before puberty as early trajectory and violent behavior that begins during adolescence as late trajectory. The report indicates that children who display violent behavior before the age of 13 typically commit a greater number of crimes, commit crime for a longer period of time, and commit more violent crimes. This is consistent with the developmental pathway reported by Verlinden, et. al. where progression from minor delinquent acts progress to more serious ones with serious interpersonal violent acts being the final set of behaviors.

The Surgeon General’s report identifies a number of risk factors for violent behavior. The most powerful early risk factors are involvement in general criminal offenses and abuse of drugs, alcohol and tobacco before the age of 12. Other individual risk factors that have smaller effects are psychological conditions including hyperactivity, low attention and impulsiveness though some researchers have questioned the effect of attention-deficit hyperactivity activity disorder on violent behavior. However, Verlinden, et. al. report that overall there appears to be a positive relationship between hyperactivity, concentration and attention problems, impulsivity and risk taking with violent behavior. 

Though the Surgeon General’s report indicates there are no strong risk factors from the family domain, low socio-economic status/poverty, and anti-social parents are moderate risk factors.  Other studies indicate family neglect or abuse may be a factor according to Muschert. And, lack of parental supervision and troubled family relationships have been found to be strong predictors of violence in children. This is not surprising as unsupervised children have a tendency to associate with deviant peers resulting in antisocial activities including violence and substance abuse. Verlinden et. al report that several studies have found a positive relationship between associations with a deviant peer group in adolescence and later violence. This is particularly relevant as some case studies reveal involvement by pairs of individuals.

Mass violence

According to Louis Schlesinger, professor of forensic psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice mass killers tend to be aggrieved, hurt, clinically depressed, socially isolated and paranoid. The paranoia is a special kind with the tendency to blame everyone else for their troubles and believe that life is unfair and the world is against them. This is consistent with a study reported by Muschert that perpetrator motivation for mass shootings is to exact revenge on the community with perpetrators equating their target schools as an attack on the community. In other words, according to Rocque, it is the statement made with violence and not exacting revenge on particular people.

As reported by Muschert, perpetrators are often the subject of bullying, romantic rejection and social marginalization. And, Rocque indicates mental illness is also a characteristic of school rampage shooters but these characteristics are similar to common characteristics of other violent juvenile offenders. Perpetrators are mostly male and feel victimized.

Studies indicate that perhaps most perpetrators of mass violence suffer from severe depression. In their study of nine incidents of multi-victim homicide, Verlinden et. al.  found that most subjects of their study had displayed uncontrolled anger, depression, threats of violence and blamed others for their problems. Though studies have revealed that mental illness is rarely recognized prior to shootings, Rocque reports that many are diagnosed after the fact. These diagnoses and findings are instructive.

Perpetrators are often suicidal. The Safe School Initiative Report examined 31 cases with 41 shooters and found that 75 percent of the perpetrators were suicidal.  The report also found that most attackers had difficulty coping with significant losses or personal failures, and many attackers felt bullied, persecuted or injured by others which is consistent with the findings of Professor Schlesinger. Davis reports that many school shooters underwent prior counseling for depression, impulsivity and anti-social behavior. In a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health researchers found that childhood abuse increased the lifetime risk for depression. Researchers also found that neglect, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of the substantiated cases of child maltreatment, increased the risk for current depression. 

As reported by Cincinnati Children’s, depression, anxiety, substance abuse and prolonged stressful life events such as bullying and relationship issues are all risk factors for suicide.  The Center for Disease Control also report research findings that youth who are victims of bullying or who have bullied others are at the highest risk of anxiety, depression and thinking about suicide. Though many perpetrators of mass violence are suicidal, they often cannot bring themselves to commit suicide or desire to make a spectacle of the event. Anthony Preti has labeled this “suicide with hostile intent”.

Langman examined ten shooters and categorized the youths as traumatized (3), psychotic (5), and psychopathic (2). However, Langman states that most youths who are traumatized, psychotic or psychopathic do not commit murder. The three traumatized youth shooters all came from broken homes with parental substance abuse and criminal behavior. Broken homes have been identified as a risk factor for delinquency. They were all physically abused and two were sexually abused. Langman found two characteristics among the traumatized youth shooters that standout. First, all three had father figures who engaged in criminal behavior using firearms and second each had peer influence to commit the attack.

The five psychotic youth shooters all suffered from schizophrenia-spectrum disorder and all came from intact families with no history of abuse. None of the subjects had been prescribe anti-psychotic medication which has been identified as a risk factor. Among the psychotic subjects’ paranoia was the most common psychotic symptom. This correlates with the findings of Schlesinger. Langman also found that the psychotic subjects possessed some level of paranoid thinking including grandiose delusions, auditory hallucinations, and disorganized thoughts. The subjects also had higher functioning siblings making them feel like failures within their families. All of the psychotic shooters were the youngest siblings in their families and were misfits with obvious difference between themselves and their siblings, parents and teachers.

The two psychopathic youths were neither abused nor psychotic but exhibited narcissism, poor self-esteem, a lack of empathy and conscious as well as sadistic behavior. Verlinden reports that some studies have found a connection between narcissism, negative interpersonal feed-back and aggression.  Langman reports that sadism is not a typical trait of psychopaths. Of interest, both psychopathic youth shooters had a fascination with guns, lacked empathy and were successful in recruiting followers to join them in the attacks. Psychopathic shooters in general feel no emotional connection to other humans and are unable to feel guilt or remorse according to Rocque.

Implications

Several risk factors have been identified by researchers that are suggestive that an individual may commit violence including mass violence in schools. However, no accurate or useful profile or single cause has been discovered by current research. Many of the identified strong predicators do relate to troubled family relationships including neglect, abuse, broken homes, lack of parental supervision, anti-social parents (moderate risk) and other similar troubled family relationships.  

These risk factors in turn lead to other risk factors such as early trajectory consisting of violent or minor criminal behavior and substance abuse. Early trajectory most likely occurs as a result of parental neglect or a lack of parental supervision. Certain individuals may also feel inferior, persecuted or as misfits resulting from abuse and other troubled family relationships. When parental neglect is present attachment between parent and child does not develop. John Bowlby discovered through his research that a high proportion of juvenile thieves had “affectionless” characters which he believed resulted from maternal deprivation and separation and a failure to form normal attachments in childhood. This failure results in disorders of mood, behaviors and social relationships. Bowlby’s Attachment Theory may explain why many of those who commit violence often have feelings of isolation, persecution, being a misfit, lack empathy for others and are unable to feel guilt or remorse.

Researcher William Damon found that respect for rules and authority, learning to follow the social order, and developing the ability to feel empathy and guilt begins early with socialization by parents and is closely related to Attachment Theory. Neglectful and anti-social parents do not fill this need and may explain why many of those who commit violence have histories of anti-social and anti-authoritarian behavior. This may also explain those who exact revenge on the community instead of specific individuals.

Research has found that childhood abuse and neglect often lead to depression which is a condition from which many individuals who have committed school violence suffer. Depression is also closely associated with anxiety. Other research has found that depression, anxiety, substance abuse and prolonged stressful life events such as bullying and troubled relationships are all risk factors for suicide a condition found in many who have committed school violence.

Ultimately these factors can lead to an identity crisis for these individuals. Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development tells us that young adults who have identity crisis tend to be isolated, afraid to have relationships with others and see others as dangerous. This could explain the feelings of rejection, marginalization, inferiority and paranoia that many of those who commit violence experience. According to Marcia these individuals are in a state of identity moratorium which is an acute state of crisis where he or she is exploring and actively searching for values to eventually call his or her own.

So, where do these individuals turn? In some cases to peers, evidenced by some acts of violence having been committed by pairs of individuals. Erikson’s Theory of Identity Crises tells us that identity confusion can lead to unhealthy and dangerous lifestyles and susceptibility to negative peer pressures. Lev Vygotsky also advocated that children learn from interaction with peers, though Vygotsky’s research focused on positive peer learning a reasonable inference can be drawn that bad behavior can be learned or reinforced by negative peer influence.

In conclusion, evidence strongly supports the hypothesis that predictors of violent behavior have their origin in troubled family relationships beginning in infancy into adolescence. These troubled relationships consisting of neglect, abuse, and lack of supervision; may result in the failure of children to form attachment, identity and development of morals consistent with social norms; resulting in isolation, anxiety, depression, suicidal tendency and violent behavior. Future research is needed to determine the extent that troubled family relationships have on those who commit school violence.  

About the Author

Greg Walterhouse is a full time faculty member in the Fire Administration and Masters in Public Administration programs at Bowling Green State University. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Oakland University, a Master’s degree in Legal Studies from the University of Illinois and a Master’s degree in Management from Central Michigan University. Before joining BGSU he had over 35 years of experience in fire/rescue and emergency management with 18 years in upper management, including Manager of Emergency Services and Chief of the Rochester Hills (MI) Fire Department and Chief of the Mt. Pleasant (MI) Fire Department. Greg can be contacted at waltegl@bgsu.edu.

By Group Mobile, an Official IPSA Supporter

It is hard to remember a time without the ability to access the Internet from our phones, not to mention a time without portable devices. While modern technology has unquestionably influenced how we do just about everything, from interacting with one another to purchasing goods, one of the biggest impacts it has made is in law enforcement. Advancements in technology have enabled law enforcement to perform their duties at a higher capacity.

Opportunities for reliable and seamless communication, and technologies such as license plate and fingerprint authentication readers, all aid law enforcement in improving their ability to serve their communities. However, some fragile technology devices do not last long in the field given the dynamic aspects and demands of law enforcement. Given this, many manufacturers have developed rugged devices, like tablets, laptops and video cameras. Rugged equipment is generally preferred by law enforcement for because they are more durable.

Rugged printers, scanners

There are a few uneasy words that typically come to mind when thinking of printers and scanners: clunky, slow, confusing. Whereas this is an irritant for civilians, printing and scanning functionalities play an integral role for law enforcement. Rugged printers and scanners solve a lot of these common issues conventional devices ensue.

A few benefits of rugged printers and scanners include a smaller design, meaning officers don’t have to add another bulky piece of technology in their cars and increased speed and quality. Scanning identification and printing tickets just got that much easier. But ultimately, the most promising aspect of these rugged devices is that they’re built to last.  

Rugged laptops, tablets

While there has been large debate regarding the benefits of rugged laptops versus rugged tablets for law enforcement, it’s non-negotiable that enforcement is armed with at least one of these two devices. Similarly, to how civilians rely on laptops and tablets, they are also two of the most used devices in the field. Given the durability of rugged laptops and tablets, money is saved in that devices aren’t constantly needing replacement due to damage from handling or weather.

Deciding to choose a laptop or tablet is dependent upon where officers are at a given moment, whether that be a patrol car or walking on foot. Rugged laptops are small, making them suitable for cars. Tablets offer more mobility, making them more convenient for those who need to take and use their device outdoors.

Mobile Routers

A secure and dependable mobile router may be one of the most important devices for law enforcement officers in the field. Ensuring officers have quick access to imperative data via their various mobile devices can be the difference between life and death. Common issues with unreliable routers include frequent loss of connectivity or vulnerability to being accessed by unauthorized individuals. Because of these susceptibilities, it’s important for law enforcement to choose routers they can rely on.

Things to consider when choosing a secure router include:

●        Finding a vendor that has a dedicated department for coordinating security efforts

●        Checking if they employ experts driving company-wide initiatives for security

●        Determining if the process for identifying and addressing issues is standardized and reliable

Modern technology serves an essential role in how law enforcement operates today, and rugged mobile devices provide the advantage of durability and consistent reliability. The mobile solutions experts at Group Mobile work with police departments nationwide and can assist you in determining the best equipment for your application and budget.

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By  Jim Dundas, Chair, IPSA Memorial Committee

This weekend is the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial remembrance event. Ninety-five fallen firefighters will be honored. In their honor, 95 American flags that were flown over the US Capital building will be displayed and raised over the course of the weekend. The event takes place at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It is an honorable thing to do, to remember those who sacrificed their life in the service of others.

Firefighters knowingly venture into harm’s way to save others. It is an honorable calling, and our dependency on their services is immeasurable. Charging into a raging fire or entering a known hazardous area to rescue someone goes against human instinct to survive – but it is because of the bravery, courage and selflessness of firefighters that many lives are saved every day. 

“Firefighters possess an extraordinary blend of courage and compassion which allows them to willingly face tremendous risks to help those in need. “The National Fallen Firefighters Memorial is a testament to the ultimate sacrifice made by these brave men and women. All who visit the memorial throughout the year pause to honor these firefighters and reflect on the courage, sacrifice and strength of their survivors.” - Chief Dennis Compton, Chair of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Board of Directors.

IPSA Memorial Committee

The IPSA Memorial Committee is charged with monitoring line of duty deaths for all public safety officials (human and K9) in the U.S. and Canada. In calendar year 2017, nearly 200 public safety officials have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

The list of causes is not long, vehicle crashes, gunshots, critical injuries sustained on the emergency scene, heart attacks, strokes and exposure to toxins. But the toll is significant, lost husbands, lost wives, lost parents, lost children and lost friends and colleagues.

While law enforcement and fire/EMS have their own memorials, it’s important to remember that in the emergency services discipline, we are all dedicated to the same mission, the same goals and the same outcomes – the safety of those we are sworn to protect. While we pray for the welfare of all public safety practitioners, this weekend we focus our attentions, sympathies and gratitude toward firefighters who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and their families.

By Tom Scott, SC Cyber Executive Director

This October marks the 14^th year that National Cyber Security Awareness Month has been recognized and celebrated. We are fortunate to witness each year a coming together of cyber security professionals and a marked emphasis on spreading the cyber message. 

The NCSAM campaign provides the chance to remind the public safety community that since we lead digital and Internet-connected lives, it is our shared responsibility to protect and safeguard our information and data. Indeed, it is believed that the cyber ecosystem will be a primary driver of the economy over the next 20-50 years since it maximizes our ability to grow commerce, communications and community in our connected world.

This yearly emphasis is an opportunity to put out the latest messaging on how to protect yourself, your home and family and departments. NCSAM reminds us to conduct a periodic review of our systems and our personal habits. Be honest, when was the last time you changed all of your personal and professional passwords? It also reminds us to review current infrastructure as technology is constantly changing and new cyber threats are emerging.  

Cyber risks are ever evolving and it is imperative to change and adapt the messaging to mitigate the changing risks. 

Cyberattack recovery – who’s responsible?

Government leaders are on the hot seat and being held accountable for cyberattacks and breaches. It used to be that cyberattacks and the organization’s response was the sole responsibility of the IT department. But, as it has become clear that the consequences of a cyberattack can threaten an enterprise’s very existence, leaders (e.g. chiefs, sheriffs, directors) are now being held more accountable. Leaders must be aware that a serious incident could result in several negative consequences for their enterprise, such as reputational damage or regulatory fines.

Learning from cyber terminology

What we’ve learned is that we must constantly adapt to the changing threats. We have seen various terms used for basically the same idea and concept—protect what is valuable. We protect what is valuable by securing it from loss or theft. In a physical world we use the term security and in an electronic world we use the term security as well.

Specifically, we use terms like information security, data security and network security. In a federal and Department of Defense world, we see the term information assurance used interchangeably with those noted above.

Another change and evolution occurred as the word cyber and cybersecurity have become the common lexicon and terms used in daily life. 

Cyber resiliency

The transformation has already occurred and it is entirely possible that cybersecurity is already a term of yesterday. The reality is, that with the constantly changing threats and the constant need to create a perfect combination of people, process and technology, we will never be secure any more than we can reduce risk to zero. 

Instead, the evolution from cybersecurity to cyber resilience is already occurring in industry, academia and government. 

It is no longer the goal to be secure. The new goal is to be able to recover from a cyberattack and to be cyber resilient. 

Cybersecurity professionals will tell you it’s a matter of when you are breached not a matter of if.  If that is truly the case, then it will take the entire organization and dedicated employees to implement resilience strategies to ensure survival. For public safety, this is more and important to ensuring the continuity of providing services to the public.

Everyone must do their part to raise cyber awareness, implement stronger security practices and educate their staff and communities to build a safer digital society that will be resistant to cyberattacks and more resilient when that cyberattack occurs.

About the Author

Thomas Scott is the Executive Director of SC Cyber. With over 25 years of State Government experience in both Florida and South Carolina, Tom has developed a wealth of knowledge and experience in protecting State critical infrastructure and cyber assets. He currently holds certifications in information security, information auditing, security leadership, and project management – he is also recognized a FEMA Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) Practitioner.

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By Todd Drake, Founder of MangeURiD, an official IPSA Supporter

The Internet can be a terrifying place, especially for those in public safety. For every funny animal picture or friendly post by family on social media, there seems to be a fresh cyberattack, data breach, vigilante or protestor aiming to utilize the Internet for their own illicit gains.

Literally anyone such as an ill-intended individual, gang member, escapee, former arrestee or protestor, can follow the provided link to acquire a home address, phone number, email address and much more. These kinds of acts essentially put the individual involved and their family at immediate risk. Every aspect of our day is now interfaced, in one way or another, with both the benefits and the threats of internet- and with the way that technology continues to rapidly move forward, it is only going to become more and more entwined in every aspect of daily life. This is why it is imperative that we take all the action we can to minimize, or outright neutralize, all the threats to our new way of life. The first step? Minimize the ability for a stranger to find out where you live.

The current trend we are seeing in targeting public safety professionals is mainly focused on confrontational interactions in high profile cases. It is often a situation where an individual is videotaping an incident and there is a specific interest in capturing the public safety individual as much as possible. You will often see that the individual recording the video will interact with public safety personnel to get a name. Once they have that name, they can quickly find your home address. 

Public safety officials’ identities are out there

Unfortunately, the reality is that this information is already out there and readily available for the taking. Some of the companies doing this vast collection of public record information and selling it are names you have probably never heard of before such as; Intelius, BeenVerified, and PeopleFinder. These people finder websites gather information from a wide arrange of sources and make that information available for purchase to anyone.

While there are over 200 companies out there doing this kind of activity, you need to be mostly concerned with 20 to 30 of them. I say this because there are plenty of companies that collect this detailed information for the sole purpose of sending you a coupon in the mail or displaying a pop-up advertisement on your pc screen. You could argue that this is creepy, but the good news is that these companies do not sell this information to individuals.

At the moment, cyber bullies and numerous online hate groups can spread their messages with unchecked impunity, as they are extremely unlikely to face any real-world consequences. For the sake of those who will be their future victims, this must change.

The important take away from this article is that virtually anyone can find just about everything they might want to know about you on the internet for any purpose – targeting, stalking, bullying, revenge, embarrassment, identity theft and much more.

No end in sight

Activities such as online targeting or Doxxing are not going away. If anything, the problem is getting worse. From solo criminals to organized gangs, the data vigilantes are everywhere, operating throughout the world. The best way to deal with this growing problem is to protect yourself by removing your information online either manually or through a service like ManageURiD, a data privacy company.

If online cyber security experts are taking steps to protect their private data, why are we not taking the most obvious step to protect this same information? If we removed personal information from the internet, we would see increased security for ourselves and our families, while simultaneously striking a major blow against all of the darker, more malicious actors of the internet.

Protecting your private data online is the best move we can make for you and your family.

About the Author

Todd Drake is the founder of ManageURiD, a personal privacy protection company with decades of information security and proper management of sensitive consumer data experience. He has more than 25 years’ experience building and running technology companies in the advanced analytics and data mining software industry and extensive data privacy experience. In the past, Todd provided the government investigative solutions that enabled agencies to locate people, detect fraud, uncover Confidential Report assets, verify identity, perform due diligence and visualize complex relationships – solutions that were used by more than 3,000 agencies to help enforce laws and regulations, fight fraud, waste and abuse and provide essential citizen services.

Todd also worked in senior capacities with organizations and major federal agencies with data intensive mandates in areas such as intelligence, security, finance, health care, homeland security, crime and fraud prevention. And he served as a senior systems consultant for the Department of Defense and the U.S. Navy, with deployments to the Persian Gulf in support of intelligence analysis operations.

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