6 Reasons Why Emergency Communication is Important for Public Safety

Imagine living in the 1800s, and having a thief steal your horse and buggy. In the old west, the reason some of the tropes we recognize today developed had to do with pragmatic reality. The sheriff had to be willing to shoot the bad guy when he saw him, or he might never see that guy again.

Keeping People Alive

A horse thief or a highway robber couldn’t be caught easily in those days. You couldn’t dial the police on your phone; you’d have to travel to the next town.

Today, we have a lot more capability in this area. Whether the situation involves some sort of natural disaster like a fire, an active shooter in a public complex, or a medical emergency, instantaneous communications are possible. This leads to the conservation of life. In this writing we’ll briefly explore six notable ways strong, reliable communications keep the public safe.

1. Effective Communications Continuously Thwart Crime

Digital communications are commonly stored for a variety of legal reasons. It’s in the public interest to keep such information. As an example, consider someone who is in the midst of a robbery, dials 911, but then gets injured. A 911 audio recording can reveal important details of the crime which may be the only way justice is possible.

When 911 telephone systems are in good working order, that helps police and other emergency responders take care of the community. The better such systems function, the safer the community is.

In contrast, as communications begin to fail, response times lag, and communities prone to crime tend to become increasingly dangerous. Strong communication proactively, preemptively, and retrospectively helps counter crime.

2. Swift Alerts Help People Get Out of Harm’s Way

Smartphones connected to the web can now instantaneously distribute alert messages throughout a given community. Communication is a two-way street. A communications system where you can’t send a message isn’t as effective. A two-way street is necessary.

Well, now the government can get in touch with you on your smartphone to keep you safe. If there is an earthquake, a hurricane, a blizzard, a flood, or a fire, you can get an alert that wouldn’t otherwise be available to you.

This is a bit cutting-edge, actually. Imagine how many lives could have been saved when Chicago burned, or when London burned if such systems existed at the time.

3. Emergency Equipment Establishes a Record for Preparation

When you can communicate both ways, and record the communication, you can build an information catalog that helps you more effectively respond when future dangers occur. You can recognize patterns, figure out where responses weren’t as effective as they could have been, why such responses weren’t properly effective, and how to fix them.

The more data of this variety that can be collected, the better future responses will be. Effective communication facilitates an “upward spiral”, if you will, that has the potential to continuously better society as a whole.

4. First Responders are More Effective With Communication

When first responders can tell those arriving what to expect, communicate with dispatch for reinforcements, and advise others “on the scene” where troublesome situations are in progress, they can do their jobs better. Cops, EMTs, and firefighters all need robust, reliable communication. When they’ve got it, they resolve issues quicker, and more effectively.

5. Without Communication, Certain Issues Can’t be Identified

Communication is fundamentally necessary to reach any conclusion. If you can’t talk to someone, if you can’t tell them what you see, why you see what you do, the nature of the situation, and similar information, then they don’t know how to help you. Communication helps reveal the problem and suggest the best alternative to solve it.

For example, surveillance cameras that have audiological capability show the sights and sounds of a situation. An active shooter can be followed, his moves anticipated, and his trajectory stunted more effectively.

Without communication like radio, telephone systems, or surveillance cameras, it becomes impossible to determine what’s going on in a remote location without visiting it. Accordingly, the time involved in an issue’s resolution becomes exponentially greater.

6. Swift Communication Resolves Crimes in Progress Faster

On that note, the more effective communications systems are, the more swiftly crimes can be stopped as they happen. These days it’s possible to map street names and other information over a live-streamed video shot from a helicopter. Police can refer to that information if, for example, someone fleeing in a vehicle manages to “get away”.

Keeping Lines of Communication Open

There’s a lot to recommend for keeping lines of communication open and effective. Government infrastructure that is able to do so will resolve crimes faster, identify issues more accurately, help first responders provide more effective help, establish better future protocols, help alert people of dangers, and act as a continuous preventative measure against crime.

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