NISTIR 8245

Voices of First Responders – Examining

Public Safety Communication Problems 

and Requested Functionality

Findings from User-Centered Interviews

Phase 1, Volume 2.1

Shaneé Dawkins

Yee-Yin Choong

Mary F. Theofanos

Kristen K. Greene

Susanne Furman

Michelle Steves

Sandra Spickard Prettyman

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https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8245
NISTIR 8245

Voices of First Responders – Examining

Public Safety Communication Problems 

and Requested Functionality

Findings from User-Centered Interviews

Phase 1, Volume 2.1

Shaneé Dawkins

Yee-Yin Choong

Kristen K. Greene

Susanne Furman

Michelle Steves

Information Access Division

Information Technology Laboratory

Mary F. Theofanos

Office of Data and Informatics

Material Measurement Laboratory

Sandra Spickard Prettyman

Culture Catalyst, LLC

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May 2019

U.S. Department of Commerce 

Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

Walter Copan, NIST Director and Undersecretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology
Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this

document in order to describe an experimental procedure or concept adequately.

Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or endorsement by the

National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor is it intended to imply that the

entities, materials, or equipment are necessarily the best available for the purpose.

National Institute of Standards and Technology Interagency or Internal Report 8245

Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. Interag. Intern. Rep. 8245, 93 pages (May 2019)

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Abstract 

The public safety community has a unique opportunity to improve communication technology for incident 

response with the creation of the national public safety broadband network (NPSBN). Understanding the 

problems currently being experienced by first responders with communication technology as well as first 

responders’ communication technology requests provides the basis for addressing and developing 

solutions to improve public safety communication. The National Institute of Standards and Technology 

Public Safety Communications Research usability team has conducted in-depth interviews with 

approximately 200 first responders representing 13 states in eight Federal Emergency Management 

Agency (FEMA) regions. The population sample includes urban, suburban, and rural locations, and various 

levels in the chain of command within the fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services, and 

communications center disciplines. 

This Volume 2 report is the second in a series of reports documenting the findings. A qualitative analysis 

of the transcribed interview data revealed thousands of problems currently being experienced by first 

responders and new functionality requests. Further analysis, with respect to current problems identified 

25 distinct categories, with 1 729 quotes categorized across the four domains. The new functionality 

request data analysis resulted in 1 143 categorized quotes belonging to 18 categories. From the problems 

and requested functionality data, three major themes across the public safety landscape were identified 

in addition to discipline-specific topics that need to be addressed as future communication technology for 

first responders develops.

Keywords 

First responders; Public safety communications research; Qualitative research; Usability; User-centered 

design; User needs and requirements.

Audience 

This report is primarily intended for developers and researchers of public safety communication 

technology.

Disclaimer 

Any mention of commercial products or reference to commercial organizations is for information only; it 

does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

nor does it imply that the products mentioned are necessarily the best available for the purpose.
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Executive summary 

With the emergence of the national public safety broadband network (NPSBN) and the transition from 

land mobile radios (LMRs), first responders have the opportunity to benefit from widespread, data-based 

communication technology. The usability team of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s 

(NIST) Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) program focuses on identifying and mitigating the 

issues faced by users with emerging public safety communication technology. This report, the second in 

a series, provides an analysis of the currently experienced communication technology problems and the 

new functionality requested by first responders as input to researchers and developers of communication 

technology.

Methods

The PSCR usability program has implemented a multiple-methods research approach. The effort began 

with a series of methodologically rigorous in-depth interviews conducted across the United States. 

Approximately 200 first responders were interviewed, representing 13 states in eight Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) regions including urban, suburban, and rural locations; and various levels in 

the chain of command within the fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services, and 

communications center disciplines. The initial qualitative data analysis of these interviews was 

documented in Phase 1, Volume 1, “Voices of First Responders – Identifying Public Safety Communication 

Problems: Findings from User-Centered Interviews.” [1]. 

The Volume 1 report provides a detailed description of the research methodology and the interview 

protocol [1]. However, the results focused on how first responders’ work influences their communication 

and technology requirements with only a brief overview of problems currently experienced by first 

responders and new functionality requests. In this volume, further qualitative analysis takes a deeper dive 

into the thousands of currently experienced problems and new functionality requests identified in the 

quotes of first responders from the in-depth interviews.

Results

Across the four public safety disciplines of fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services, and 

communications centers, the deeper analysis of the currently experienced problems data yielded 25

distinct categories, with 1729 quotes categorized. Additionally, the data analysis of the new functionality 

requested resulted in 1143 categorized quotes belonging to 18 categories. Summary cross disciplinary 

tables are provided that identify each of the categories. The high-level categories and their subcategories, 

with approximately 300 exemplar quotes from first responders related to each subcategory, are 

discussed. Graphics and quotes for each specific discipline are also provided. 

Overwhelmingly, the requests for new functionality by first responders are primarily related to fixing or 

improving the problems they are experiencing with their current technology than any other need 

expressed. Not surprisingly, overlap exists in the majority of problems and requests expressed across 

disciplines. The top categories across disciplines for both current problems and requests are for:

• Reliability,

• Usability, and
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• Interoperability.

Thus, updates to the technology they currently use is at the forefront of how research and development 

can have a direct impact on the work of first responders. Beyond these essentials of increasing the 

effectiveness of first responders’ tasks, certain technological advancements are needed. The greatest 

need for cutting edge technology, across disciplines, is for devices that provide information to the first 

responders in real-time. First responders want timely, accurate information during incident response. The 

real-time technology these responders need ranges from GPS traffic navigation to distance estimation to 

language translation. In addition, nearly 50% of real-time technology needs in our interview data is related 

to live video and images of the scene.

While there were various cross-cutting themes in the data, the unique environments and tasks within 

each discipline revealed distinct communication technology problems and requested functionality. 

Firefighters have major issues with audio clarity on the fire ground. They would also benefit from 

technology more seamlessly integrated into their gear. Those in emergency medical services, specifically, 

need a method of reliably transmitting patient records to hospitals. Uniquely, body camera improvements 

would be most useful to first responders in law enforcement, as well as usable security, and technology 

integrated into their vehicles. Exclusively for personnel in communications centers, their greatest 

concerns are the ability to accurately track the location of 911 callers, preparations for continuity of 

operations, and preparing for text-to-911 and images and videos.

Contributions

This report is primarily intended to be a resource for developers and researchers in the public safety 

communication technology domain. It provides PSCR-relevant information and significant details about 

the views of first responders’ problems and new functionality for communication technology. Tables and 

graphics are provided for easy comprehension of the large dataset. Understanding the issues with current 

systems and first responders’ communication technology requests provides the basis for addressing and 

developing solutions towards improving public safety incident response.
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Table of Contents 

Abstract.................................................................................................................................................i

Keywords ..............................................................................................................................................i

Audience ...............................................................................................................................................i

Disclaimer .............................................................................................................................................i

Executive summary ..............................................................................................................................ii

Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................iv

List of Tables .......................................................................................................................................vi

List of Figures ......................................................................................................................................vi

Glossary ..............................................................................................................................................vi

1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................1

1.1. Background...............................................................................................................................1

2. Data Analysis............................................................................................................................2

2.1. Qualitative Analysis..................................................................................................................2

2.2. Systematic Categorization........................................................................................................3

3. Participants..............................................................................................................................4

4. Results.....................................................................................................................................7

4.1. Categorical Data Overview.......................................................................................................7

4.1.1. Top Problems Categories..................................................................................................7

4.1.2. Top Requested Functionality Categories..........................................................................8

4.2. Cross-Disciplinary Findings.......................................................................................................9

4.2.1. Reliability..........................................................................................................................9

4.2.2. Usability..........................................................................................................................12

4.2.3. Interoperability...............................................................................................................14

4.2.4. New Technology.............................................................................................................15

4.3. Categories...............................................................................................................................19

4.3.1. Currently Experienced Problems....................................................................................20

4.3.2. New Functionality Requested ........................................................................................24

4.4. Discipline-Specific Findings.....................................................................................................28

4.4.1. Overview of Disciplines ..................................................................................................29
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4.4.2. Problems and Requested Functionality Data .................................................................31

5. Summary of Results................................................................................................................77

5.1. Future Directions....................................................................................................................78

Acknowledgements............................................................................................................................78

References .........................................................................................................................................78

Appendix A: Qualitative Analysis Code Books.....................................................................................80

Code List for COMMS interviews.........................................................................................................80

Code List for FF, LE, and EMS interviews.............................................................................................81

Appendix B: Revision History..............................................................................................................82
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List of Tables 

Table 1. Total number of participants interviewed by discipline.................................................................5

Table 2. Experience with Technology...........................................................................................................6

Table 3. Category Tables Reference Notations..........................................................................................19

Table 4. Problems Categories by Discipline................................................................................................20

Table 5. Requested Functionality Categories by Discipline........................................................................24

Table 6. Most Unique Discipline-Specific Problems and Requested Functionality ....................................29

List of Figures 

Fig. 1. Quotes by Discipline ..........................................................................................................................3

Fig. 2. Phase 1 Interview Areas by FEMA Region .........................................................................................5

Fig. 3. Demographic Data .............................................................................................................................6

Fig. 4. Top Problems Categories Across Disciplines......................................................................................8

Fig. 5. Top Requested Functionality Categories Across Disciplines..............................................................8

Fig. 6. FF Technology Problems Categories and Subcategories .................................................................31

Fig. 7. FF Requested Functionality Categories and Subcategories.............................................................37

Fig. 8. EMS Technology Problems Categories and Subcategories..............................................................45

Fig. 9. EMS Requested Functionality Categories and Subcategories..........................................................49

Fig. 10. LE Technology Problems Categories and Subcategories................................................................53

Fig. 11. LE Requested Functionality Categories and Subcategories...........................................................59

Fig. 12. COMMS Technology Problems Categories and Subcategories......................................................67

Fig. 13. COMMS Requested Functionality Categories and Subcategories .................................................72

Glossary 

AI ......................Artificial Intelligence

AR.....................Augmented Reality

CAD...................Computer-Aided Dispatch

CO.....................Carbon Monoxide

COMMS ............Communications Centers

COOP................Continuity of Operations

DUI ...................Driving Under the Influence

DWI ..................Driving While Intoxicated

ECC ...................Emergency Communications Center

EKG...................Electrocardiogram

EMS ..................Emergency Medical Services

ePCR .................Electronic Patient Care Report

FBI ....................Federal Bureau of Investigation

FEMA................Federal Emergency Management Agency

FF......................Fire Service
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FY2017..............Federal Government 2017 Fiscal Year: October 1, 2016 through September 30, 2017

FY2018..............Federal Government 2018 Fiscal Year: October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018

GIS ....................Geographic Information System

GPS ...................Global Positioning System

HIPAA ...............Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996

HUD..................Heads-Up Display

HW ...................Hardware

IC ......................Incident Commander

IP ......................Internet Protocol

IT ......................Information Technology

KVM..................Keyboard, Video, and Mouse

LE......................Law Enforcement

LETS ..................Law Enforcement Telecommunication System

LMR ..................Land Mobile Radio

LPR....................License Plate Reader

LTE....................Long-Term Evolution

MDC .................Mobile Data Computer

MDT..................Mobile Data Terminal

MRU .................Medical Response Unit

NASA ................National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NCIC..................National Crime Information Center

NCIS..................Naval Criminal Investigative Service

NG 911 .............Next Generation 911

NPSBN ..............National Public Safety Broadband Network

PBX ...................Private Branch Exchange

PCAD.................Police Computer-Aided Dispatch

PCR ...................Patient Care Report

PPE ...................Personal Protective Equipment

PS......................Public Safety

PSAP .................Public Safety Answering Point

PSCR .................NIST’s Public Safety Communications Research Program

R&D ..................Research and Development

RMS ..................Records Management System

SCBA.................Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus

SIM ...................Subscriber Identification Module

SSO...................Single-Sign On

SW....................Software

TAC ...................Tactical Channel

TIC ....................Thermal Imaging Camera

UI......................User Interface

USB...................Universal Serial Bus

VHF...................Very High Frequency (radio frequency)
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VIN....................Vehicle Identification Number
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1. Introduction 

The public safety domain is embarking on a major technological shift. The community is transitioning from 

the use of present-day LMR towards a LTE network. The network, currently under development, is a 

dedicated LTE network for public safety known as the nationwide public safety broadband network

(NPSBN). The goal of the NPSBN is to improve communication for first responders by providing an 

independent, interoperable communication platform during incident response and by providing the 

capabilities of network priority and preemption. With the emergence of the NPSBN, the public safety 

community is beginning to transition to more widespread, data-based communication technology. NIST’s

PSCR program is dedicated to supporting the R&D of this technology. Research within the PSCR program 

focuses on identifying and recommending ways to mitigate the issues faced in emerging public safety 

communication technology.

The PSCR usability project focuses on the human factors issues surrounding the use of communication 

technology [6]. The research within this project centers on the technology users— the first responders. 

This project seeks to better understand first responders’ environments, tasks, and communications needs. 

In doing so, part of the project is to directly engage with first responders to examine their perceptions 

about their use of communication technology during incident response. The ultimate goal is to capture 

the requirements for the effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction of first responders’ use of 

communication technology, and to share their concerns with the wider public safety community. Three 

initial research questions guided this work:

1. How do public safety personnel describe the context of their work, including their roles and 

responsibilities as well as process and flow?

2. How do public safety personnel describe their communication and technology needs related 

to work?

3. What do public safety personnel believe is working or not working in their current operational 

environment related to communication and technology?

1.1. Background

The PSCR usability program is using a multiple-methods research approach to gain an understanding of

first responders and their communication needs. The first phase of the project– the qualitative 

component – was designed to get a deeper look at the user population without making assumptions about 

the first responders or their technology use. A series of methodologically rigorous in-depth interviews 

were conducted throughout the United States. The first responder population sampled for the interviews 

accounted for geographic and cultural diversity; urban, suburban, and rural locations; and various levels 

in the chain of command within the fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services, and 

communications center disciplines. The first round of interviews was conducted in FY2017. The second 

round of data collection in FY2018 was geared towards expanding the rural area representation and 

communications center representation in the data. Through both rounds of data collection, nearly 200 

first responders were interviewed, representing 13 states in eight FEMA regions. The first round of 

interviews of Phase 1 was documented in, “Voices of First Responders – Identifying Public Safety 
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Communication Problems: Findings from User-Centered Interviews, Phase 1, Volume 1” [1]. This report, 

Phase 1, Volume 2, includes data from both rounds of interviews.

The second phase – the quantitative component – further investigates first responder communication 

technology needs with a broader representation of the population. The quantitative component consists 

of a large-scale nationwide survey of first responders designed to verify and expand on communication 

technology use findings from Phase 1. The mixed-method approach will provide a more holistic view of 

first responders’ technology needs.

Phase 1, Volume 1 reported on the overall qualitative analysis methodology and the research results from 

the first round of data collection (FY2017) [1]. Given that most of the interview questions focused on 

understanding first responders’ characteristics, their tasks and contexts of use, the Phase 1, Volume 1 

report focused on those areas. However, the interview questions also elicited a set of currently 

experienced problems. In addition, one interview question specifically asked first responders to think 

outside the box and describe their technology wish list: “pie in the sky here—if technology could do 

whatever you wanted it to, what would you want?” Thus Volume 1 also included brief descriptions of 

problems and new functionality requests expressed by first responders (see Phase 1, Volume 1, Appendix 

D: User-Identified Technology Opportunities and Needs) [1]. 

A key finding of Volume 1 is that first responders do not want technology for technology’s sake [1]. What 

first responders want is improved technology to address their problems and requested functionality. 

Given the large quantity and variety of first responder-identified technology problems and functionality 

requests expressed in the interview data, a comprehensive analysis further characterizing those data was 

required. The qualitative analysis and refinement of the thousands of functionality requests, 

requirements, and problems with communication technology explicitly voiced by first responders 

throughout the course of the in-depth interviews is reported here, as a follow-up to Phase 1, Volume 1

[1]. This Volume 2 report includes data from the entire in-depth interview dataset (both FY2017 and 

FY2018). The report presents a more exhaustive analysis of the technological problems and the new 

functionality requests of the first responder disciplines, citing exemplars of the technological problems 

and requests across public safety disciplines (fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services, and 

communications centers). It provides a summary of the categorical data for the technological problems 

and requested functionality, and presents a more exhaustive analysis of those realities within each 

discipline.

2. Data Analysis 

2.1.Qualitative Analysis

The rigorous data analysis process used in this qualitative research is detailed extensively in Phase 1, 

Volume 1 (Sec. 4: Qualitative Data Analysis) [1]. To summarize:

1. In-depth interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. The first round of qualitative data 

collection included interviews with personnel primarily in fire service (FF), law enforcement (LE), 

and emergency medical services (EMS) disciplines. The second round of qualitative data collection 

focused more on personnel from public safety answering points (COMMS).
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2. A code list was generated in order to label, or tag, participant statements. The codes are a set of 

labels based on the research questions, relevant literature, and an understanding of the 

communication and technology space in the first responder community. Two code lists were 

generated; one for EMS, FF and LE and one for COMMS given the unique environment and primary 

tasks within that discipline. Both code lists can be found in Appendix A. 

3. The transcripts were coded. Qualitative coding is a process of using the code list to label sections 

or chunks of transcribed data capturing the essence of the statements to group, compare, and/or 

manipulate chunks.

4. The data was extracted. Data extraction refers to exporting the data associated with a code from 

each transcript into a separate document. 

5. Themes were identified. Qualitative analysis is the process of exploring the relationships of the 

data and the codes to identify themes. The iterative process of going back and forth between data 

and codes, between the full data set and extracted files facilitates the identification of themes, 

trends, and outliers, and provides an overall impression and understanding of the data. 

2.2. Systematic Categorization

For this effort, the participant statements coded as “problems: technology” or “wish list” were extracted 

from the interview transcripts. This resulted in separate extraction files, by discipline, related to each 

code. In this report the participant statements extracted are referred to as quotes. There were over 1100 

“wish list” quotes extracted; “problems: technology” consisted of over 1 700 quotes. The total 

percentages of quotes for both codes, by discipline, is depicted in Fig. 1.

(a) Quotes Coded “Problems: Technology” (n=1 767) (b) Quotes Coded “Wish List” (n=1 113)

Fig. 1. Quotes by Discipline

The currently experienced problems in this report refer to participant quotes coded as “problems: 

technology”; the new functionality requested refers to participant quotes originally coded as “wish list”. 

Participants were not restricted to discussing technology when asked about their wish list. While “wish 

list” data included information, equipment, policies, procedures, and funding, the requested functionality 

reported here are only those that are related to technology.
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In order to have a better understanding of the technology problems and requested functionality discussed 

by first responders, additional analysis of the data was required. Qualitative research is fundamentally 

iterative in nature. The research process consistently returns to the research questions to inform future 

elements of the process. The data analysis of Volume 1 and the extractions provided the initial data set 

for this iteration of qualitative analysis [1]. Focusing on the codes of problems and requests, the 

qualitative analysis steps were repeated from the development of new code lists (step 2) through the 

identification of new themes (step 5).

The quotes of problems were analyzed independently from those quotes of requestsfor new functionality

by separate members of the research team. Each member independently identified new codes and subcodes for either problems or requests. The team members met to review and discuss the codes. The codes 

were revised and operationalized based on ongoing discussions, ensuring that multiple points of view 

were captured. In this report the new codes and sub-codes are called categories and subcategories, 

respectively (see Sec. 4.3 for the full list of categories).

The problems and requested functionality quotes yielded two separate sets of categories and 

subcategories. Each of the problem quotes were coded using the new categories and subcategories for 

problems; the quotes related to requested functionality were coded using the new categories and 

subcategories for requested functionality. However, due to the nature of the interview process and how 

participants described the execution of their operational tasks, some overlap between the category sets 

does exist. For example, a participant who has a problem with technology frequently crashing may also 

articulate a request for more reliable devices. In addition, on several occasions first responders gave voice 

to multiple subcategories in a single quote; these were also included in the final quote list for the 

respective subcategories. The newly coded data were extracted – meaning each of the quotes associated 

with a particular code was filtered in preparation for analysis of themes. 

Finally, themes were identified. Relationships were examined among the codes, among and across the 

four disciplines, and between the problems and requests quotes and their respective codes to identify 

themes. This iterative process of going back and forth between quotes and codes, and between the quotes 

and transcripts, facilitated the identification of themes, trends, and outliers and provided an overall 

impression and understanding of the data documented in the results section.

3. Participants 

Through the two rounds of interviews, a total of 193 first responders participated, resulting in 158 

interview transcripts. Some interviews included multiple participants; five participants opted to not be 

recorded (see Phase 1, Volume 1, Sec. 3: Methods, for interview protocol and procedure) [1]. Table 1

below shows a breakdown of interview participants by area type and discipline. Fig. 2 shows the 

geographic areas where interviews were conducted, by FEMA region [3].
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Table 1. Total number of participants interviewed by discipline

FF LE EMS COMMS TOTAL

URBAN 28 32 13 4 77

SUBURBAN 24 20 6 3 53

RURAL 19 20 6 18 63

TOTAL 71 72 25 25 193

Fig. 2. Phase 1 Interview Areas by FEMA Region

At the start of each interview, participants were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire (see 

Phase 1, Volume 1, Appendix B: Demographic Questionnaire) [1]. The resulting data are shown in Fig. 3. 

Corresponding to the first responder population, 86 % of the interviews were conducted with male 

participants. In the U.S., approximately 87 % of LE [7] and over 95 % of FF [5] are males. The majority of 

participants were nearly evenly distributed between 26 and 55 years of age; with 25 % from 26-35, 28 % 

from 36-45, and 35 % from 46-55. The interview sample included participants with diverse levels of 

experience, divided into five-year intervals, representing the novice to the most experienced.
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Fig. 3. Demographic Data

The demographic questionnaire also included two questions about participants’ experience with 

technology. The first questions addressed knowledge of technology while the second question focused on 

user characteristics of technology adoption. The results are listed below in Table 2.

Table 2. Experience with Technology

Q1. Experience with different kinds of technology: (including desktop or 

laptop computers, tablets, smartphones, and the internet).

Percentage*

 ̈ I have limited experience using technology and I don’t know much 

about how technology works.

1.05 %

 ̈ I have some knowledge about how technology works, but often 

need to ask for help to perform more advanced activities – such as 

to configure the privacy settings on my cell phone.

10.99 %

 ̈ I can do most things that I want to do with technology and only 

need help occasionally.

71.20 %

 ̈ I can do all things that I want to do with technology without help 

from others.

18.85 %

Q2. In general, when do you adopt new technologies? Percentage*

 ̈ I try the latest technologies as soon as they come out. 19.90 %

 ̈ I follow technology trends. 38.22 %

 ̈ I let others work out the kinks first. 39.27 %

 ̈ I wait until my old technology dies. 8.38 %

 ̈ I only adopt new technologies when it’s required. 5.24 %

* The percentages do not add up to 100% since participants could select more than one option

Male

86.0%

Female

14.0%

Gender

46-55

34.6%

56-65

6.8%

over 65

1.0%

18-25

4.7%

26-35

24.6%

36-45

28.3%

Age (years)

1-5

11.0%

6-10

16.8%

11-15

15.7%

16-20

16.2%

21-25

18.8%

26-30

11.0%

Over 30

10.5%

Total Years of Service
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4. Results 

The results of the in-depth analysis of the problems currently experienced by first responders and their 

requested functionality are presented in this section1. Since the categorized data from this more in-depth 

analysis is best presented by reporting the quotes directly from the first responders, the high-level 

categories, their subcategories, and the quotes related to each subcategory are discussed. All quotes in 

this report are verbatim presented in blue, indented text. Each quote is followed by a notation 

representing the source transcript. The notations are comprised of three parts: discipline (FF; EMS; LE; 

COMMS); city type (Urban=U; Suburban=S; Rural=R); and interview number. Thus, (LE-U-006) refers to an 

LE interview, from an urban location, who is law enforcement interviewee number 006. This convention 

provides assurances to the reader of the data’s provenance and that the data can quickly and easily be 

located within the larger dataset when necessary. The quotes in this report are exemplars from the coded 

transcripts. Each exemplar quote was chosen as an illustration representing a category or subcategory. 

Sections 4.1 and 4.2 present a view of the data across each of the four disciplines. The former provides a 

brief overview of the technology problems and functionality requests categories; the latter, a summary of 

the top categories in both the problems faced by first responders and their requests for improved 

technology. In the final two results sections, 4.3 and 4.4, each of the categories and subcategories are 

described in detail and a thorough view of the data provides unique perspectives from each discipline.

4.1. Categorical Data Overview

The analysis of the 2872 problems and requested functionality quotes resulted in 43 categories of data. 

As described in Sec. 2.2, the problems and requested functionality category sets were developed 

separately but contain some overlap due to the nature of the participant responses. While some of the 

top categories presented here are similarly related, the data categories overall represent a breadth of 

topics. Examining the categorical data across disciplines reveals where first responders in the public safety 

community stand, both in the problems faced and the functionality requested.

4.1.1. Top Problems Categories

Analysis of the problems data yielded 25 distinct categories, with 1 729 quotes categorized. The most 

pressing problems categories across disciplines are shown in Fig. 4, proportional to the quotes in the 

dataset.

 

1 The terminology used throughout the results sections is a reflection of the voices of first responders. Terms and 

phrases used were directly from the interview data.
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Fig. 4. Top Problems Categories Across Disciplines

By far, problems with radios are the most pressing concerns for first responders, who across disciplines 

experience a variety of issues (see Sec. 4.3.1 for detailed problems faced). Other categories include 

problems with microphones and earpieces, body cameras, MDCs, 911 calls, and video media.

4.1.2. Top Requested Functionality Categories

Requested functionality data analysis resulted in 1 143 categorized quotes belonging to 18 categories. 

Categories include a wide variety of topics, from technology needs and improvements (e.g., usable 

security, wireless microphones) to futuristic technology aspirations (e.g., self-driving cars, facial 

recognition). Fig. 5 shows the most important categories from the data across disciplines, proportional to 

the quotes in the dataset.

Fig. 5. Top Requested Functionality Categories Across Disciplines
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While many categories are important to first responders, having technology that is able to deliver realtime information during an incident is the most pressing functionality request. Other categories in the 

requested functionality data include futuristic technology, microphones and earpieces, radios, mobile 

apps, enhancement to responder vehicles, and usable security.

4.2. Cross-Disciplinary Findings

The focus of this section is on those technology problems and requested functionality of greatest 

importance to first responders. First responders’ use of communication technology hinges on their 

perception of its usefulness and trustworthiness. For their current devices and for those on the horizon, 

first responders want technology to work without being a detriment to their primary tasks. If technology 

doesn’t work properly, doesn’t work as advertised, or doesn’t work as expected, first responders 

expressed that they wanted it fixed or replaced with new technology, or when possible, they would revert 

back to older methods to accomplish their tasks.

By a large margin, the functionality requests of first responders are more related to fixing or improving 

the problems with their current technology than any other functionality requested. This intersection 

between problems and requested functionality across disciplines revealed three standout categories:

• Reliability,

• Usability, and

• Interoperability.

For these categories, this section presents, via quotes directly from the first responders, the technological 

problems first responders want fixed, how they want them to be fixed, and how they think their current 

technology can be improved upon. Also discussed is one of the greatest individual functionality requests 

posed by every discipline – the use for technology with the ability to provide real-time visual information 

during an incident. To better gauge the specific requests of a single discipline, see Sec. 4.4. See Sec. 5.1

for information regarding access to the full dataset.

4.2.1. Reliability

First responders, across all disciplines, experienced technology failures & disappointments, leading to 

expressions of a lack of trust using technology due to its unreliable nature. Responders expect technology 

to fail, so they feel the need to constantly be prepared with backup plans, causing more work for 

responders. Often, backup plans involve other technologies, which in turn have their own set of issues. In 

addition to the extra preparedness due to anticipated technology failures, responders are provided with 

technology that becomes useless when there are data network or radio coverage interruptions. When 

network connectivity breaks down, devices that use that broken infrastructure are then unreliable. 

Responders need their technology to work when they need it and how they expect it to work.

“The biggest thing is a device that works 100 % of the time, not 90 % of the time.”

(FF-U-004)

“Everything we use, I mean, we don't have time to mess with it, or tweak it, or 

play with it. It has to work the first time, every time, or people will just to stop 

using it. They will just refuse to use it and go back to the old way.” (EMS-U-003)
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“The radio is extremely important. It is our lifeline. When we need it, it doesn't 

always work.” (LE-R-018)

“I want it to work. I don’t care what name is on it... We run 24/7, internet is 

important to me, phone system working is important to me, radio system 

working; those are my top three priorities.” (COMMS-R-020)

The inability to rely on technology in high stress situations causes responders to constantly be prepared 

for that technology to fail. Even when the responders have extra precautions in place, those backups often 

have their own set of issues.

“Technology is great when it works. When it doesn't, you got to fall back to pen 

and paper.” (LE-S-037)

“You start that [tanker truck] out it might go or it may not go because it has got 

all its computer stuff on it, if they don’t go you got to cut everything on and off 

and start all over.” (FF-R-054)

“Using the computer to follow directions to get to a location, and you hit a bump 

and the computer shuts down. So then you go back to a mapping system, which 

is just a hard-- Paper, hard copies. So we always have redundancy in everything 

that we do.” (EMS-S-015)

“Well, apparently one of the main fiber optic lines, a squirrel chewed through it 

and the whole system shut down. There were supposed to be backups to the 

backups to the backups, and we just laughed because we don't understand the 

details, but apparently this squirrel hit something and chewed through something 

that bypassed the backup to the backups to the-- I don't know that much about 

it.” (COMMS-S-003)

“In any type of critical incident, that is one of the first things that goes is the 

communications on cell phones... we try to have the redundant systems in place, 

probably more so in public safety than any other profession; we try to have those 

redundant systems but it still doesn’t mean that, you know, some of them haven’t 

been utilized in years and we are not sure that they are going to continue to work 

if we need them to do so.” (LE-R-059)

One of the major causes of unreliable devices is the interruption of the supporting communications 

network. First responders face issues such as dead zones, geographical interference (e.g., valleys, 

canyons), and structural interference (e.g., high rises, basements, tunnels and subways). When radio 

coverage or data connections fail, first responders deem the devices themselves unreliable.

“The big issues with our communications are the dead zones and kind of holes in 

our communications.” (EMS-S-016)

“...the reliability, the radios dropping out mid-conversation... the signals dropping 

out when you really need them sometimes.” (LE-R-054)
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“Sometimes when you call [law enforcement officers], it'll go straight to 

voicemail. So the tower for the radio tends to reflect the same or similar to your 

cell phone service. So like if I'm not getting him on the radio, chances are I'm not 

going to get him on the phone. But sometimes I do, but for the most part they're 

about the same. Like if you walk into a hospital, neither your radio nor your cell 

phone is going to work.” (COMMS-R-012)

“The downside is when a firefighter goes down in a basement, and his radio 

doesn't see a repeater, he can't call for help, so the radio is useless. So the fix to 

that is to go to a direct channel. The downside of being on a direct channel is only 

people within a mile can hear the radio, so other people across the city or 

incoming to the fire don't get to hear what's going on before they get there until 

they get into range of the direct channel. So that's a conundrum. I guess there are 

some fixes. You can put a repeater on every chief's buggy that will also take that 

direct channel and put it into a repeater system that way everybody to hear it 

that way. That requires infrastructure, investment, and installation, and so forth, 

and money, so.” (FF-U-016)

“We see enough cell phone failure, especially at the large events. We don't trust 

them yet to be reliable enough. We think that especially when we really, really 

need them is when they're going to do down.” (EMS-S-003)

The coverage and connectivity issues first responders face during incident response led to further 

expressions of a need for new technology to fill the gap.

“You go into a low spot then you lose [radio coverage]. If we go south and we go 

east, we've got a straight shot, no hills, no bumps, or anything, you could go miles 

and miles and miles and still listen to the radio. You go two blocks in our city 

north, and you hit on the other side of the hill, and you lose transmissions. So the 

more towers we can get, the better. The more signal that we can get out, the 

better.” (LE-S-021)

“The people that are involved in the actual manufacturing of radios have to work 

a little closer with the building people, maybe, and just from the onset of a 

building being put together, maybe have repeaters throughout the-- you know 

what I mean? Be proactive a little bit and just because of the state of the world. 

That wasn't a thought 25 years ago, but today we have to think that way.” (FF-U029)

“We have a lot of software with connectivity between the patient care records 

we have on our laptops to our monitors, which are the 12-leads and defibrillators 

and all that. So I think a lot of times there could be ways to improve the 

connectivity between that because it's so integrated. And you can't finish reports 

if the connectivity is not there, and you can't upload your monitor to your 

computer. So WiFi is plan A, and then there's also USBs that we can use if the 
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WiFi's not working. But it just seems like that's a hang up in our system often and 

increasing the time of the reporting. And getting back into service until the 

report's done. So once again, technology issues there.” (EMS-S-006)

The stability of wireless network connections must be considered when improving the reliability of 

communication technology, for both for day-to-day operations and the big events.

4.2.2. Usability

Universally, first responders expressed frustration in using their communication technology. Issues ranged 

from the size and weight of their devices to the overly complex nature of their user interface designs. 

Overall, first responders want a limited number of light-weight devices that don’t interfere with their dayto-day tasks while being easy to use.

First responders experience a level of discomfort due to the physical attributes of their technology. For 

fire and law enforcement especially, weight and bulkiness are significant factors in the safety and 

productivity of the responders.

“In my opinion, technology should make life easier not harder. Right? And if the 

radio doesn't do anything other than just add more weight to your belt-- with 

these new radios, I'm not accessing any new channels that I didn't have privy to 

before. They're mainly for if for whatever reason you're doing law enforcement 

stuff out of state or whatever, then I guess you can add some new channels with 

that. But majority of the officers are never going to do that.” (LE-U-003)

“As they're adding technology [to the SCBA cylinders] they're adding weight. And 

I would say that one of the number one complaints... the Scott pack that we used 

to have with no bells and whistles, just air, that was it. It was 18 pounds. The thing 

we have now is like 27 pounds. Now, it has technology built in. It lets you know 

when your bottle is low. It has all these things. And if you go down, it has a 

computer chip and someone can use a homing device to find you. And that's all 

amazing, except it's 50 % more on your back. And the minute you put that on, 

you're not thinking about the fact that the microchip might help somebody find 

you, you're thinking about the fact that, ‘I'm slamming this thing against my back 

12 times a day. I'd really rather not slam 27 pounds. If I had to slam something 

against my back, I wish it was 18,’ right?” (FF-U-012)

“Anything that you could make lighter that we have to carry is always going to be 

good because we carry a lot of stuff.” (LE-S-037)

Responders are required to use a number of different devices and equipment, often having to wear or 

carry them. As this responder said, making technology lighter will improve their satisfaction within their 

work environments. The more clunky the hardware they are required to use, the more their physical load 

increases. As such, first responders were unified in wanting to carry less technology.

“We have a lot of things that we carry. So there's so much on our belts... Just a 

little bit of weight off your belt is huge. So I have a hard time trying to fit 
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everything on my belt as required in policy. Especially if you're some of the 

smaller officers, male or female just depending on your waist size, it's like you 

don't have enough real estate to fit all this stuff that's required. So a lot of people 

have dropped tasers or that kind of stuff. Now they're adding the body camera's 

right here. And you have a radio right here. You have the mic. This is just here. 

And then you're like-- and then you've got your notepad. You've got your pens 

and then everything around your waist and your gloves. So I would hope that 

sometime the technology could help us remove some of all this hardware that 

we're carrying around all the time. That would be a big deal. I mean health wise 

for officers too.” (LE-U-007)

“I mean, right now, on an incident, I'm carrying usually two 800 radios, a VHF, 

and two cellphones when I'm running an incident. And that's ridiculous... So, I 

mean, I'm usually sitting in a vehicle. It's also too much information... When 

someone's talking, I can't process all that information. So to fix that problem, 

we're not carrying so many different-- just to be able to talk to different people 

through cell phones, consolidate it down, but then, somehow, have it 

manageable.” (FF-R-019)

For COMMS, the burden of too much technology still exists; however, this is not a result of being physically 

weighed down. In COMMS, the issue is how much technology they have to manage. 

“...with all the things that everybody wants to integrate. They want you to have 

apps, they want you to be able to bring in apps, they want you to be able to bring 

in photos and videos and texting and this and that. The more stuff we add-- the 

more computer screens, the more keyboards, the more mice. It just keeps adding, 

and it’s the more burden.” (COMMS-U-007)

“So, you've got 10 new radio channels but you've got one dispatcher. Are you 

expecting that one person to handle 10 channels? So, what is the limit? I mean, 

what is the cut-off in that -- right? Because there is no specific... and there is no 

defined number, you should be responsible for your primary channel and two 

side channels or three side channels.” (COMMS-R-019)

When discussing interactions with their devices, across the board, first responders faced problems with 

the complexity of the user interface design. In voicing their frustrations, responders mentioned the need 

for simple, easy-to-use interfaces. They want devices that are easy to use, hard to make mistakes, and 

easy to recover if mistakes are made.

“Ease of use and usability is a big deal, and we're doing the same things over and 

over and over again, so we want those to be as efficient as they can be. 

Sometimes the software needs to be tweaked, sometimes I hit this button and 

it's supposed to do X, and when it doesn't that creates more work for me and I've 

got to do-- and it's gets frustrating.” (EMS-U-001)
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“I would say, first thing [I want] would be a more user-friendly phone system. 

That'd be number one... I think the one we have now just-- it requires a lot of 

steps. If I wanted to call a fire station, for example, it's one, two, three, four, four 

steps. Whereas before, I would just click on the fire station tab and find fire 

station one, double click... And I'm done. Now I have to go click phone book, I 

have to type in fire, hit enter, and then all of my choices pop up. Then I have to 

scroll over... sideways to find what station I'm looking for, and then click it. That's 

just one example.” (COMMS-S-004)

“When we need the technology, we need it to be simple. We don't need it to be 

complex because we don't have the time to work through complexities in 

anything technology because our decisions are instant... And so technology is 

great, but if it's complex, it kind of is counterproductive.” (FF-U-025)

“In the police world, if you want somebody to use something, it has to be simple. 

The more complicated it is, it's very seldom getting used.” (LE-R-001)

In addition to concerns about the complexities associated with using their technology, responders’ issues 

with user interfaces often stemmed from how information was displayed. 

“There's a level of art and science to how information is displayed. And I don't 

think that those who are creating the applications for us now either understand 

that or have the capacity to invest in the infrastructure necessary to display it 

cleanly in a way that works.” (FF-S-032)

“The push is important, how [information] gets to the officer. Flying, bing, and 

you just see a big picture, ‘This is the car we're looking for.’ That's awesome... It 

needs to be boom, ‘Wanted vehicle for this,’ boom, and just the picture of it. 

Simple, bold writing. That's the key... Give it to me so I can digest it.” (LE-U-023)

First responders require technology solutions that are simple to use, simple to learn, and simple to 

integrate into their environments; they need usable technology.

4.2.3. Interoperability

First responders want their technology to work when they need it to work and how they need it to work, 

without overwhelming complexity. Beyond the usability and reliability issues widespread throughout the 

data, the functionality of first responders’ devices was often presented as a hindrance to their operations. 

Responders want improved functionality in their technology, which in many cases involved the 

interoperability of their devices. There are many issues surrounding interoperability; a predominant 

theme being the inability to effectively communicate with responders in other disciplines, jurisdictions, 

and agencies.

“It takes longer to get things done just because there's a lag time, obviously. If I'm 

telling my dispatcher to tell the fire department dispatcher to tell the firefighter 

or paramedic to do something.” (LE-S-034)
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“Being able to share that public safety data from one agency to another... CAD 

interoperability. Being able to share that data. [City redacted] right next door to 

us, they have a domestic violence case going on. The suspect may live here. It's 

going to take a 10-minute conversation between the dispatcher over there and 

the dispatcher here to catch up on all of the information on that suspect when all 

they could do is send us a file card over in our CAD system and, boom, we have 

everything that they had as far as all of the comments. We can't do that now.”

(COMMS-R-016)

“I don't care what field you're in, communication is the key to either success or 

failure and you're only as good as your communication components and your 

knowledge of communication. So we're always lacking, in my opinion, when it 

comes to radio communication. There's always problems, there's always 

problems getting on the right channel or being able to communicate with a 

different entity or different agency. You see that in, unfortunately, but you've got 

mass shootings and there's always a problem with cops being able to talk to 

firefighters. There are paramedics... And I don't know what the answer is, but I 

mean, there's hundreds of millions of dollars of grants that have been thrown 

towards it and we get better but I don't know if-- I don't know what the answer 

is to that streamless [sic] communication. Practice. But I mean, there's always 

technology that's going to give you problems.” (FF-U-021)

“We have very little to no communication with our police agency. We are able to 

scan their channel, but I don't think they want us on their channel, and they don't 

come onto our channel. And that's been identified as a huge problem in some of 

these large-scale incidents around the country of, for instance, the [city redacted] 

shooting. There was no communication between the police and the fire on one 

scene. So I think that needs to get bridged. I think that's done through policy and 

procedure. I think the technology is there. I just don't think we utilize it 

efficiently.” (EMS-S-006)

“I guess the biggest thing, I think, that would help first responders is an easier, 

more efficient way to communicate with each other when we have to. Like us and 

the fire department. I mean it's not something we need to do every night, but 

when we need it, it's important. So the more time we can cut down on that, the 

better.” (LE-S-037)

4.2.4. New Technology

First responders have a great deal of improvements that need to be made to their existing communication 

technology, the most pressing of them reported in the previous section. By and large, updates to the 

technology they currently use is at the forefront of how research and development can have a direct 

impact on the work of first responders. Beyond these essentials of increasing the effectiveness of first 

responders’ tasks, certain technological advancements are warranted.
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“I think there's room for [new technology] as long as it's durable and it's userfriendly. That's huge.” (FF-U-025)

The greatest request for cutting edge technology, across disciplines, is for devices that provide 

information to the first respondersin real-time. First responders want timely, accurate information during 

incident response. The real-time functionality these responders requested ranges from GPS traffic 

navigation to distance estimation to language translation. In addition, a large majority of real-time 

technology requests in our interview data is related to live video and images of the scene.

For COMMS, real-time video and images are most critical when an emergency call is received at the 

communications center. During that time, visuals of the caller’s environment would help provide clarity 

and context to call takers and dispatchers, who would then be more effective when contacting fire, EMS, 

or law enforcement.

“[It] would be nice if [the communications center] could see [video] but like we 

have that option to turn it on or turn it off. And like, maybe if they want to do 

that, we can turn on, like the phone companies would give up or like Apple or 

Galaxy or whoever it is, Note 8 or whatever, whoever makes that -- like, we have 

access to -- like if a caller, 90 % of our calls are wireless. So, if they are calling in -

- then maybe we would have access to their camera. Like, by them calling 911 

would grant us access to let's say their camera... And that way like that would 

help us if we are having trouble locating -- I don't know where I am at. Okay, well-

- let me see where you are at.” (COMMS-R-019)

However, technologists must consider the unintended consequences of COMMS technological 

advancements, and the potential for negative impacts on call-takers. 

“I have speculation, but I really don’t know how [receiving video is] going to 

impact and if that’s going to take too much time. I don’t know if it's going to slow 

things down or quicken it, I don’t know. I know it's a technology that the 

millennials love and it's easy for them, but it may not be necessarily easy for us. I 

don’t understand how a video would be better than a text or a call... If there's 

something going on and it's a video of a house fire and they turn around and we 

can see that there's flames shooting out the windows, advantage... But an 

ambulance call? Maybe, maybe not. If they're bleeding and we can see it's an 

artery or a vein, maybe it's an advantage. I don’t -- I mean video feeds of the 

scenes to help get the right resources a lot quicker I'm all for; videos to make a 

911 call, not too keen on that.” (COMMS-R-020)

“I think that there are some technologies that are coming that are going to be 

good. But then there's some technologies that are out there that I don't want to 

have anything to do with... Mostly accepting pictures and video from the public 

directly into the 911 center. I don't want to have anything to do with that.

Number one, I think it's going to be a huge liability. And then it's going to expose 

people to things that they didn't sign up to see a baby who may have died in their 
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crib. They may not have signed up for being an investigator on a kidnapping that 

somebody took a video of and they missed something in that video that was 

critical and then some attorney down the road 6 months, 2 years down the road 

gets them on a witness stand and says why didn't you see this, [whatever]. He's 

had 2 years to review that video and go, you know, you should have seen this 

piece of evidence in the video. I just don't want to have anything to do with it.”

(COMMS-R-016)

For fire, law enforcement, and EMS, real-time information is needed most en route to, and on scene at an 

incident. Live videos and images in these disciplines would be beneficial from a diverse set of perspectives, 

including aerial, interior, and perimeter views of the incident. 

“If you could text message a picture to 911, and they could send it to us, that 

would help as far as we could look and say, ‘This car accident here and the people 

can't get out of their vehicle.’ A lot of times, the engine is dispatched by 

themselves. We could see that picture and say, ‘Hey, let's add on a truck,’ and 

achieve to that so we can extricate. Let's get that ball rolling sooner. Images 

would be pretty fantastic, but actual words and perception is just so different. My 

pain scale might be very different from yours, so.” (EMS-S-005)

“Some kind of FaceTime application or something that as I'm walking down the 

hall, the chief sees us and is seeing what I'm seeing exactly and at the command 

post on a screen... that might cut down on a ton of radio traffic because command 

doesn't need to know if there's smoke in a stairwell because he can see it.” (FFU-005)

“I would dispatch, and [the dispatcher would] be like, ‘Listen, dude. Until the day 

that we can see everything that's happening there, we can't tell you what we can't 

know. We can't tell you.’ So if there's some way to see that...” (EMS-R-007)

“I guess, if I had the ability, if you could have a real-time satellite picture, that 

would be nice. So if you can get an overhead, how you can get an overhead of a 

satellite picture of an area. If you could get a real-time to see if it was a burglary 

and you heard that the liquor store was being broken into and you could pull up 

a picture of the liquor store, a video showing real-time and see the person 

running.” (LE-S-034)

“So if you could get into the truck and have information there readily available, 

like a picture of the building, and a residential buildings. Now, a lot of our 

commercial buildings we'll get pictures, but they're historical pictures or pre-plan 

pictures. If I could get accurate on-scene information in front of me before I leave, 

can change my entire way of thinking.” (FF-S-023)

Responders have broad, but consistent views on what technology can provide real-time information. The 

most consistent ideas about new technology are the use of drones for incident response. Responders 
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think both aerial and ground drones would be useful for various purposes, especially when combined with 

high definition cameras, infrared, or night vision.

“For a river rescue, that would be awesome. Send a drone up in the air, search it 

out ahead of time, so then that drone can pinpoint according to our GPS, 

coordinates right to the person. We can have video, audio, tell the people, ‘We're 

here, we're overhead, help is on the way.’ Immediately, we can tell the people to 

pinpoint instead of us searching miles of stuff. Then if we have visual on them, 

we can see them, we can tell what the clothing they're wearing, male and female, 

what their injuries are. We can ask them questions and we can-- all of that stuff 

can already be ahead of, before someone even goes face to face. So AI in that 

regard is awesome, to be able to do something like that.” (COMMS-S-003)

“I mean, a drone's not going to put a fire out. A drone is not going to solve a car 

accident. But what a drone can do is give you information... So if we're responding 

to a house fire and it takes us five minutes to get there, but the drone can be 

there in 2 minutes and have a live feed 360 view of what we're going to, that 

would be invaluable.” (FF-S-033)

“So some type of a drone with a camera. And before we go into this area, what 

do we have there? Is there something that can be relayed back to us and say,

‘Okay, you have three cars in this type of an accident. Here's a picture of where 

you can come in, it's easier for you to come in.’” (EMS-U-010)

“Even ground drones. I was thinking about the BB-8 character from Star Wars. So 

there's a guy with a gun in the building, and I get that little ball with the camera 

and just send him in there... Reconnaissance. We don't need the tact robot with 

the arms. We just need that little ball with the camera.” (LE-U-013)

“We had an 80-car pile up here on the [highway] here... it took them over an hour 

to really get a handle on the number of victims... And it was on an elevated part 

of the expressway, so you really couldn't get a lot of foot traffic up there... [a 

drone] could have just flew up and down, up and down, and it could have got a 

really good handle on what they needed as far as resources go. And resources for 

an incident like that are critical for life-saving. Do we need five ambulances or 50? 

And if they don't know, now the people that need them the most are going to 

have to wait the longest. So that's not good.” (FF-U-029)

Responders were also cautious of how drones would be used, as well as how their use was perceived by 

the public. However, they thought in certain situations drones would be a worthwhile technology, stating 

the advantages of their use.

“I wouldn't be a big fan of [drones] for routine patrolling and that kind of stuff. It 

is a little too big brotherish for me. But for a barricade, being able to put a drone 

up to get a view of the house the person barricades in, or looking for lost people 

in [the park] or something, I think they'd be phenomenal.” (LE-U-029)
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“There's a lot of concerns with [a drone] program, and I completely understand 

that. But for that fire, that gave it an overhead perspective. It was a large building 

fire, huge, of which, the operation section chief could look down, and he's like, 

‘Good, we've got everything in place.’ But for us to get a helicopter up and do the 

same shot, it's not only thousands of dollars more per hour, we just don't have 

those resources. I mean, they're busy. They're doing other things. My buddy's a 

helicopter pilot for [state highway patrol], and they get to fly just a few hours a 

day because of the cost these days. It's just expensive. So, yeah, drone technology 

is pretty amazing.” (PS-S-0012)

4.3. Categories

In this section, the list of the categories, subcategories, and their descriptions are provided for both 

currently experienced problems and new functionality requested. While the categorical data are not

reported in their entirety, the categories and subcategoriesrelevant to the PSCR community are reported.

Results of the qualitative analysis of the categorical data are presented in tabular format, for both 

problems (Sec. 4.3.1, Table 4) and requested functionality (Sec. 4.3.2, Table 5). Noted in these tables are 

the categories and subcategories expressed by the corresponding discipline. The icons used for the 

notations are defined in Table 3 below.

Table 3. Category Tables Reference Notations

Problems 

Icon

Requested Functionality 

Icon

Meaning

● ● The shaded dot represents a frequently discussed problem 

or functionality request of first responders 

○ ○ The hollow dot represents a problem or functionality 

request expressed by first responders

While these notations are intended to provide useful insight into the interview data, the icons do not 

indicate that a subcategory is exclusive to a discipline. Likewise, the absence of an icon does not 

categorically indicate a lack of problems encountered, nor a lack of requests for functionality, merely that 

first responders didn’t mention it in the interviews. It should be noted that, as this is a qualitative analysis,

first responders’ problems and functionality requests are not binary in nature; context of use should be 

considered as each subcategory description is not a blanket statement for a discipline.

All categories and subcategories presented in this section are arranged from most discussed problems 

and most requested functionalities requested to the least, in proportion to the first responders’ quotes in 

the dataset. The problems categories (Sec. 4.3.1, Table 4) and requested functionality categories (Sec.

4.3.2, Table 5) may contain some overlap due to the nature of the participant responses (see Sec. 2.2).

The categories between the two lists should not be considered redundant, even though some category 

 

2 The PS notation refers to “Public Safety” interviews, where the first responder was cross-trained in FF, LE, and EMS 

disciplines.
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names may appear as the same. Highlights from each discipline and exemplar quotes for each subcategory

here can be found in Sec. 4.4. For access to the full dataset, see Sec. 5.1.

4.3.1. Currently Experienced Problems

Table 4. Problems Categories by Discipline

CURRENTLY EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS FF EMS LE COMMS

Radio

Dead zones

● ● ● ●

Areas where radio coverage is poor or nonexistent

Traffic

Problems with jammed radio channels due to reasons such as only one ● ● ●

person can talk at a time; people communicating too much

Channel switching

Problems finding and/or switching to the appropriate radio channel, or ● ● ●

radio channels becoming out of sync

Usability

Problems with physical aspects of the radio, e.g., accidental button ● ● ●

activation

Reliability

Unreliable technology ● ● ● ●

Problems with unreliable technology

Redundancy ● ● ● ●

Backup plans needed due to unreliable technology

Unreliable transmissions

● ● ○ ●

Uncertainty about whether messages have been properly sent/received

Interoperability

External interoperability

Interoperability issues communicating with other disciplines, ● ● ● ●

jurisdictions and agencies

Internal interoperability

Issues with technology and data not being integrated, not ● ● ● ●

communicating with each other, and often times from different vendors

Physical Ergonomics

Robustness

● ○ ●

Problems with technology not being durable enough

Battery problems

Problems with battery – e.g., doesn't last long enough, compatibility, ● ● ●

charging issues
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CURRENTLY EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS FF EMS LE COMMS

Bulky and heavy ● ● ●

Problems with device's big size and/or heavy weight

Too many devices

○ ●

Problems with carrying too many devices

Physical discomfort ● ● ○

Technology causes physical stress on body

Display size ● ●

Problems with legibility if screen is too small

Safety concerns ●

Technology putting officers at risk

User Interfaces

Ineffective and inefficient

User interface not designed to be intuitive, user-friendly, or consistent; ● ● ● ●

not supporting users’ needs

Alerting ● ●

Problems with user interface that provides warnings or alerts to users

Modality ○ ● ●

Inappropriate modality (e.g., visual vs. auditory)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure

Implementation/Installation issues ● ● ● ●

Problems with implementation and/or installation of technology

Cost a prohibitor ● ● ● ○

Expensive technology preventing adoption

IT management ● ● ● ○

Problems with having adequate IT management

No user requirements collected/considered ● ● ● ○

Technology implemented without users' input

Public safety network reservations 

○ ● Concerns with the implementation and/or operation of a large-scale 

public safety communication network (e.g., service provider, coverage, 

quality, bandwidth)

Security Constraints

Authentication

Problems with the authentication process, multiple system logins, or ● ○ ● ○

passwords during incident response

Access control

● ● ●

Responders not able to use all technology/functions
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CURRENTLY EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS FF EMS LE COMMS

Technology Outdated

Outdated

● ● ● ●

Problems with aging, outdated technology

Incomparable to personal technology

Problems with technology being incomparable with personal ● ● ●

technology available commercially

Connectivity

Reception ● ● ● ○

Dead-spots within cellular reception or connection not always stable

Bandwidth issue

● ● ●

Bandwidth issues with wireless connection

Audio Clarity

Hard to hear

Difficult to hear due to technology, background noise, sensitivity of ● ○ ○ ●

worn microphone/radio position, or SCBA mask

Audio feedback

● ○ ○ ○

Audio feedback causing static or noise on channel

Microphone/Earpiece

Cord

Microphone/earpiece cord susceptibility to melting, entanglement, ● ○ ●

becoming disconnected, or problems integrating into uniform

Earpiece ● ○ ●

Problems with earpieces or earbuds (e.g., hearing loss concerns, fit)

Wireless microphones ● ○ ○

Problems with pairing wireless microphones

Overwhelmed

Sensory overload

Problems with handling a lot of things concurrently while actively ● ○ ● ○

performing primary task

Situational awareness

○ ●

Technology can be distracting, requiring responders’ attention

Body Camera

Functional issues

Problems with video quality, data transfer, accuracy of scene capture, ●

additional operational tasks, etc.

Physical issues

Problems with placement (e.g., video occlusion) and placement ●

mechanism
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CURRENTLY EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS FF EMS LE COMMS

Technology Overrated

Problems with new technology

New technology functionality doesn't meet expectations (e.g., ○ ○ ○ ●

disappointing, time consuming)

Doesn't solve communication problems

Technology can enable communication, but is not necessarily the ●

answer to communication problems

Mobile Data Computer (MDC)

Navigation/ Mapping ● ● ○

Navigation/Mapping inaccurate and/or not available

Functionality ○ ● ○

Lack of functionality or functionality seldomly used

911 Calls

NG 911

● Concerns about excessive contextual information via visual input to 911, 

lack of contextual information via text to 911, or information transfer 

interference with callers' 911 apps

Caller location

●

Problems with identifying caller location especially with cell phones

Nuisance calls

Accidental non-emergency calls, e.g., pocket dials with cell phones, ●

smart watches and medic alert buttons

Disruption of Operations

Continuity of Operations (COOP)

Problems with separate communications centers, lack of redundancies ●

(e.g., trunk lines, cell towers), etc.

Mobile operations ●

Problems with functionality available (e.g., mobile truck unit, VPN)

Video

Data issues

●

Problems with storage, quality, or interoperability among systems

Surveillance videos

●

Problems with using surveillance videos
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4.3.2. New Functionality Requested

Table 5. Requested Functionality Categories by Discipline

NEW FUNCTIONALITY REQUESTED FF EMS LE COMMS

Real-Time Technology

Live video & images - capture/live feed technology 

Technology to record and disseminate videos and images live to ● ● ● ●

responders and incident commanders (IC) en route and on scene

Traffic & Navigation 

The need for real-time traffic information and/or GPS navigation en ● ● ●

route to an incident

Drones 

Technology to assist first responders during incident response, en route ● ● ●

or on scene

Language translation 

Technology used to communicate effectively with the public without ○ ● ●

going through a third party

Identification device

Technology used to efficiently and effectively identify a victim or person ●

of interest on scene (e.g., mobile fingerprint reader, iris scanner)

Functionality

Reliability ● ● ● ●

The need for technology to work when necessary and how expected

Better coverage 

The need for improved connections to radio or cell towers from any ● ● ● ●

location

Clearer communications 

● ○ ○

The ability to hear and be heard more clearly via technology

Improved functionality 

● ○ ● ○ Instead of new technology, improve functionality of current technology 

to be more effective in assisting first responders in completing their 

tasks

Longer battery life ● ● ○

The need for device batteries to last the duration of an incident

Faster devices 

○ ● ●

The need for faster technology

User Interfaces

User friendly 

● ● ● ● The need for technology that assists responders in completing their 

tasks by designing device operations to be efficiently and effectively 

completed in one simple step, not a series of complex steps
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NEW FUNCTIONALITY REQUESTED FF EMS LE COMMS

Hands free 

Technology that can be operated without the use of first responders’ 

●○●

hands

Non- verbal communication 

The transmission of information using methods alternative to voice 

●●○

communication

Tracking

Responder location

●●●● Technology that provides the accurate location of responders and 

responding resources both inside and outside of structures (e.g., 

number, discipline, location, direction)

Caller location

Technology that allows responders to pinpoint from where a 9-1-1 call ●●●

originated

Search technology 

●●○ Technology that assists responders in search and rescue for victims 

(e.g., sonar, drones) or finding persons of interest (e.g., cell phone 

pinging)

Interoperability

Software/Hardware compatibility

The need to operate a variety of hardware devices and software ●●●●

systems seamlessly (e.g., RMS and CAD)

Interagency communication system 

●●●● Technology that makes it possible for responders to communicate 

between public safety disciplines, jurisdictions, and agencies, either 

locally or statewide

Patient care reporting (PCR)

● Technology that has the ability to send patient information to the 

hospital and other entities that provide emergency medical services 

during incident response

Body camera integration

● The need for body camera technology to be integrated with other 

technology used for incident response, e.g., facial recognition systems 

and other camera systems

Interjurisdictional criminal data

Technology that allows information sharing about criminals between 

●

jurisdictions

Physical Ergonomics

Smaller and lighter

The need for technology to be smaller and lighter, enabling easier 

●●●

portability

Fewer devices

●○●●

Minimizing the need to have too many devices
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NEW FUNCTIONALITY REQUESTED FF EMS LE COMMS

Robustness 

● ○ ●

The need for technology to be more durable

Larger devices

The need for certain devices to be larger (e.g., buttons, keyboards, ● ○ ● ○

screens)

Integrated Gear/Wearables

HUD 

● The need for a heads-up display built into the SCBA mask, and for it to 

display specific information, e.g., air tank levels, CO levels, thermal 

imaging, responder location

In-mask microphone/earpiece

The need for a microphone inside the turnout gear instead of having to ●

speak into the radio via mask amplifier

Responder vitals 

Sensors and other technology built into the turnout gear that monitors ●

health and safety status of responders

PPE technology ●

The need for various types of technology built into responders’ gear

All-In-One

Cell phones and/or radios

○ ● ● ● The need for hardware and software applications to be built into 

smartphones, or for multi-functional radios (e.g., phone-radio 

combination device)

Tablets 

The need for tablet computers to be used as all-purpose devices, ● ● ○

incorporating various software applications

Software & Apps

● ○ The need for various software applications or mobile apps to be 

combined into one for improved efficiency and to reduce duplication of 

effort

General multifunctional devices

The need for devices to serve a variety of purposes, combining multiple ○ ● ●

software applications into one device

Cameras 

The need for hardware and software applications to be built into photo ● ●

and video cameras

Futuristic

Media/Science-fiction influenced

Advanced technology that replicates or repurposes what is used in ○ ● ●

mainstream media, e.g., Minority Report movie, Iron Man movie
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NEW FUNCTIONALITY REQUESTED FF EMS LE COMMS

Smart buildings

Buildings with sensors and other technology built-in to provide more ● ○

information to responders during an incident

Face and object recognition software 

Technology that has the ability to identify people and specific vehicles ● ○

based on their appearance

Self-driving vehicles ● ●

Automated vehicles that do not require a driver

Augmented reality (AR)

Technology that can be used to enhance responders’ environmental ●

information during incident response

Emergency traffic light system 

Traffic lights that adapt to emergency vehicles, changing traffic signals ●

to allow vehicles responding emergent to pass through intersections

Microphones/Earpieces

Wireless 

● ● ●

The need for cordless microphones and/or earpieces

Specialized earpieces

Custom earpieces that permit non-radio sound to be heard while the ● ●

earpiece is in use

Radios

Channel switching 

Non-manual radio channel switching capabilities, either automatically ● ○

by location or remotely by dispatch

Multiple talk groups 

The need for a variety of different avenues for communicating on the ● ○ ○

radio

Prevent accidental transmissions

● ○

The need for devices to guard against unintentional radio use

Mobile Apps

Information references

Mobile apps that provide access to the internet for databases of ● ○ ●

searchable, downloadable, or printable information

Discipline-specific apps

The need for specific apps (e.g., e-ticketer or license scanner for LE, ● ●

asset tracking for FF)
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NEW FUNCTIONALITY REQUESTED FF EMS LE COMMS

Vehicles

Windshield HUD

Technology built into the windshield of police vehicles that displays ●

relevant incident information

Built-in camera

The need for a camera to be mounted on the dashboard or in rear of ○ ●

vehicle

Automatic license plate reader

The need for technology that automatically scans and flags license ●

plates from the vehicle without officer actions

Dashboard computer ●

The need for CAD technology to be built into the vehicle's dashboard

Usable Security

SSO 

The need for single-sign on capabilities to simplify authentication across ○ ● ○

apps

Communications Center Technology

Improved dispatch interface ●

The need for dispatch-specific interfaces to be more useful and intuitive

Multimedia data packages 

The need for call takers to be able to receive information in other ●

methods, e.g., video

Access to caller cell camera 

Technology that would allow COMMS to activate and view the caller’s ●

camera to see the caller’s environment

Large multi-view display ●

The need for multiple computer monitors setup in the control room

4.4. Discipline-Specific Findings

While there are a number of commonalities across disciplines, each discipline faced its own set of 

challenges based on its unique environments and tasks [2]. This section reports a more complete view of 

the categorized problems and requested functionality data, centered around each individual discipline. It

opens by highlighting the most pressing and most unique problems and requested functionality of each 

discipline. Following these highlights are visual representations of the categories by discipline (Fig. 6 - Fig.

13) and exemplar quotes for each subcategory. The categories and subcategories presented are arranged

from the most discussed problems and most requested functionalities to the least.
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4.4.1. Overview of Disciplines

All disciplines are well known to have issues with radios and radio use. Next to radio problems, the most 

pressing problems categories for each discipline are listed below. While these categories reflect major 

issues within each discipline, they are not isolated to the discipline noted.

• FF: Reliability

• EMS: Reliability 

• LE: Interoperability

• COMMS: 911 Calls

Likewise, the most important functionality requests for each discipline are listed below. However, as in 

the problems data, these functionality requests are not isolated to the corresponding disciplines.

• FF: Real-Time Technology

• EMS: Functionality

• LE: Interoperability

• COMMS: Tracking

The remainder of this section presents the most unique discipline-specific problems and requested 

functionalities. Unlike the most pressing problems and requested functionality categories listed above, 

these are those categories that stand out from the other disciplines due to unique environments and 

tasks. These unique categories are summarized in Table 6.

Table 6. Most Unique Discipline-Specific Problems and Requested Functionality

Discipline Top unique problems Top unique requests

FF Audio clarity Technology integrated into PPE

EMS Transmitting patient information Interoperability of ePCR and EKG 

with external systems

LE Body camera safety and usability SSO; vehicle windshield HUDs

COMMS

911 call technology; continuity of 

operations preparation; 

implementation and infrastructure

911 caller tracking; improved 

dispatch and camera interfaces

FF 

Firefighters reported experiencing many technological problems – one unique challenge during 

firefighting being audio clarity. On a noisy fire ground – with deafening sirens, chainsaws running, fire 

burning/crackling – it is hard to talk or hear, especially since firefighters often have to talk through a mask 

that muffles their voices. In addition to wanting clearer communications on the fire ground, firefighters 

also uniquely requested technology to be seamlessly integrated into their PPE and SCBA. Firefighters feel 

that technology such as HUDs and in-mask microphones and earpieces would have a major impact on 

firefighters’ approach to incident response.
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EMS

Unique to EMS personnel are problems with transmitting patient information to hospitals and other

medical providers (e.g., Red Cross). They feel the interoperability of their electronic PCR and EKG systems 

with external systems will reduce their workloads, and minimize their effort and stress, and improve 

patient care and outcomes.

LE

A unique technology challenge for police officers is a byproduct of the increasing use of body cameras. 

While police officers recognize the benefits of body cameras, they expressed concerns with the burdens 

of their use. For example, having to remember turning it on and off; the difficulty with having it attached 

to their uniforms, especially while performing strenuous physical activities; and issues with uploading 

videos. There are also concerns about officer safety, for example, the flashing light on the body camera 

could reveal their location; the distraction caused when turning on the body camera while facing a 

suspect. While body camera improvements are clearly needed, more prominent in the requested 

functionality data for law enforcement officers is for usable security on their devices (e.g., SSO), as well as 

integrated vehicle systems (e.g., HUDs integrated with their windshields).

COMMS

Communications center personnel identified problems in three unique areas: 911 incoming calls; 

preparations for continuity of operations (COOP); and implementation and infrastructure problems.

Interestingly, many of the problems expressed with incoming 911 calls result from callers’ use of newer 

technology. Such problems include loss of contextual information from text messages to 911, nuisance 

calls (pocket dials) from cell phones, smart watches and medical alert buttons, and an abundance of 

incident calls from well-meaning on-lookers with cell phones. Similarly, the most pressing functionality 

requested for communications center personnel is to be able to track the precise location of 911 callers, 

which is particularly an issue for accurately locating callers using cell phones, because many callers do not 

know where they are or have trouble articulating information about their precise location. When COMMS 

personnel have an accurate caller location, they can more effectively communicate incident information 

to the units responding to the scene.

Unsurprisingly, the second concern is for appropriate preparations for continuity of operations in the 

event the communications center is incapacitated. While all disciplines expressed problems with 

implementation of technology and infrastructure, communications personnel are in a unique position in 

that many are required to be interoperable with all responding disciplines. Finally, within the COMMS 

environment, personnel expressed the unique request for improved dispatch and camera interfaces. 

Whether it is a display with multiple views, a wall of monitors for street cameras, or something more 

futuristic like the visual and gesture-based interfaces seen on modern crime television series, COMMS 

personnel want improvements made to the way they interact with their technology.
FF Technology Problems

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4.4.2.Problems and Requested Functionality Data

FF Technology Problems

Fig. 6. FF Technology Problems Categories and Subcategories
FF Technology Problems

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Radio: Dead zones

“So we have an older legacy building that we've never had problems 

with, they put up a new high rise next to it, oh, all of sudden we've 

got a problem there. So that's become more and more of a problem, 

that even though the new buildings we generally have good coverage 

because of the code requirement, we're overall seeing a degradation 

in our coverage level in those urbanizing areas of the county because 

of the interaction of the buildings with the existing coverage, the new 

buildings with the existing coverage.” (FF-S-040)

Radio: Traffic

“Everybody has something to say about what they see or what 

they're doing. And everybody thinks it's the most important thing out 

there, right? But if you all try to say at one time then nobody's getting 

through and you get bogged. Only one person is going to get through 

at a time in one type of a channel. So if you have 30 people there in 

certain portions of that building or under whatever they're going 

through, someone's going to be waiting a while to get on the air. And 

it's hard.” (FF-S-035)

Radio: Channel switching

“But we do have the capability to talk to them if everybody moves to 

these certain channels. But they're so rarely used that a lot of our 

guys, they have to search for them. They're literally going bank to 

bank in the radio to try to find it.” (FF-R-024)

Radio: Usability

“Emergency activations are a huge problem on fire grounds because 

you've so many people moving around with the radios positioned in 

different spots... And then you're trying to, in a smoky building where 

you can't see anything, there's zero visibility, one, figure out if you're 

the one who did it, with everything else going on, and then you're 

trying to reset it with a gloved finger in a lot of cases. So it's just that's 

a huge thing... God forbid you hit the emergency button and you have 

the ruthless [preemption] or whatever the hell it's called. Then you 

literally have priority on the channel and there's no way anybody 

would ever be able to talk over you. That's a huge issue.” (FF-U-042)

Reliability: Unreliable technology

“The tablets [MDC], they're not reliable... We were going to the tablet 

shop almost every day because the way that the bracket and the way 

it was mounted in there, the tablet would shake so much that 

essentially it'd just shake the thing to death and it would just crash. 

In the docking port, it would not get a charge because anytime you 

were moving, it wouldn't be able to keep the connection so it would 

just die all the time. That's across the board.” (FF-U-042)

Reliability: Redundancy

“Being a very active community we do a lot of back country rescue 

and communications again is one of our biggest issues so we kind of 

look at different ways that we can improve communications and have 

backup communications for those responders that are going out into 

the field because especially during winter with avalanches there’s so 

many additional hazards that the responders face out there added on 

top of it.” (FF-R-054)

Reliability: Unreliable transmissions

“And in order for it to be officially termed a communicative process, 

there has to be feedback, right? Without feedback, how do you know 

if the message was actually perceived on the other end by whoever 

transmitted it in a proper way, or was that information disseminated 

properly from one place to another.” (FF-U-029)
FF Technology Problems

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Interoperability: External interoperability

“We have four different dispatch units that we have potentially to 

interact with, and they're all operating on different CAD systems... So 

we have a lot of interoperability challenges.” (FF-S-035)

Interoperability: Internal interoperability

“The vendors, the 50, or 100, or whatever, they've really focused on 

one area. And they try to do the other two or three things, but they 

never do them well. And so we've created work-around after workaround to try to get everything to work, but it doesn't work well. It 

creates a ton of work on our side to be able to make all of this work.”

(FF-S-022)

Audio clarity: Hard to hear

“And depending on what's going on inside with other noises and 

things, that can sometimes challenge it. But every once in a while you 

get a garbled communication coming from somebody wearing a mask 

just because of placement of the radio and where they're talking.”

(FF-S-038)

Audio clarity: Audio feedback

“If I have my radio up too loud and my officer's next to me, we get 

feedback. So you got to be careful of that. And it may not even be my 

officer, it may be the next firefighter next to me. So then if your radio 

is down too low, then [you can't hear].” (FF-S-022)

Physical Ergonomics: Robustness

“There could be a problem with the portable radio if left outside of 

your protective equipment due to thermal insult or a thermal 

exposure to it. Yeah. You'll melt the thing and it becomes useless, 

then you've got to rely on yelling, or if you're lucky enough, escape a 

pre-flashover. So if worn right, worn correctly, and following the 

procedures or guidelines of the fire department, it won't fail you. 

Most of those things that occur in the fire service, a lot of it is then 

human error and miscommunication. Communication is a big factor.”

(FF-U-028)

Physical Ergonomics: Battery problems

“Everything has to be powered. How are we powering it? And power 

is your limitation. And it could be a cord or battery or fuel, but that is 

your limitation. And how do you extend that and get more efficiency 

and more power? Got to get that too because it's got to be more 

effective.” (FF-U-012)

Physical Ergonomics: Bulky and heavy

“We explored a TIC that was integrated into a helmet. It was about 

$1 million a piece when we were looking at, and it proved to be a very 

cumbersome piece of technology. It was 10 years ago, so the screen 

was really thick. The camera was really heavy. It added another 10 

pounds to somebody's head... And if you'd look like an orange sitting 

on top of a toothpick, that's basically what it was. So it just proved 

that it just wasn't a good technology.” (FF-S-022)

Physical Ergonomics: Display size

“I can't read so much information on a small screen like that, not 

while I'm en route. It's not going to happen. I mean, I may try, if I have 

a moment or two to glance at it, but--It's too much, yeah. And I have 

a lot else going on. In high-traffic times when we're responding, I'm 

actually helping the driver. I'm always scanning because he may not 

see somebody.” (FF-U-029)

User Interfaces: Ineffective and inefficient

“The way the CAD vendors do it, it just dumps whatever information 

is in the CAD remarks all into one rather than actually having it more 
FF Technology Problems

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of a filtered stuff. I don't care what the contact log information is. It 

should be in the background. I just want the actual remarks.” (FF-U042)

User Interfaces: Alerting

“Well, you got 10 of us in a smoky room and somebody's bell starts 

sounding. You didn't know whose it was. And normally, the guy it 

was, was so focused on whatever he was doing or she was doing that 

they didn't think to reach back and see if it was them. So everybody's 

hearing this bell... And the speaker diaphragms on our SCBA that 

we're trying to use to communicate on our radio are right next to the 

regulator. So if the vibralert is sounding, that's a barrier to 

communications.” (FF-S-040)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure: Implementation/Installation issues

“And then all of a sudden, the computers don't run on certain 

programs. So then you got to get rid of that program, and then you 

end up with a new program. So it's constantly changing.” (FF-S-022)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure: Cost a prohibitor

“Well, they make [TIC] now where it can be embedded within your 

SCBA mask, so you don't have to carry a camera. It's like Terminator 

vision, right? So those kinds of things actually do exist. They're just 

incredibly cost prohibitive.” (FF-U-012)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure: No user requirements 

collected/considered

“So each apparatus phone could only hold 200 numbers. You cannot 

add numbers, which is problematic for us because we communicate 

on a daily basis with the FBI and Secret Service and other law 

enforcement agencies. And yet the 200 numbers is filled up with lots 

of useless numbers of different firehouses that we're never going to 

need to call. So I think the person who implemented that program 

never talked to the end user of what they actually wanted, or 

expected, or could use.” (FF-U-044)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure: IT management

“Now it's not a large enough department to continue to improve [the 

technology developed in-house] and deal with all the bugs, so we've 

had some issues on that front.” (FF-S-032)

Technology Outdated: Outdated

“When a fire is paged out here they may page out the appropriate 

response it may or may not go out over the radio. We have somewhat 

of an outdated underfunded antiquated communications here in our 

county.” (FF-R-049)

Technology Outdated: Incomparable to personal technology

“So on the squad, our systems are so dated. So Google Maps doesn't 

really work and they're not precise, so we rely a lot on our phones. 

So a lot of firefighters-- if I'm driving the squad I'll have the person 

behind me go, ‘Can you map this out and tell me directions over the 

headsets?’” (FF-U-011)

Connectivity: Reception

“And whether you're using the web-based server or you're using 

cellular technology, there is that communication link break down. So 

there isn't cell reception everywhere around here. There's times 

when you're on a call, or you're going to a call at two in the morning, 

and you log onto the database and the server, where ever it is, is 

updating. And so you can't input any information and you're forced 

to write it on a piece of paper and then put that information in later.”

(FF-S-031)
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Connectivity: Bandwidth issue

“But every once in a while, that becomes an issue because during 

these events you put more resources in one area all competing for 

the bandwidth of one tower.” (FF-R-008)

Security constraints: Authentication

“Enter a password, and a username, and everything else, and hit the 

right button, while you're bouncing down the street, or it's dark out. 

It's two in the morning. That's where that interface of, ‘Okay, do I 

really need to logon each time I use this thing?’” (FF-S-031)

Security constraints: Access control

“When you have the IT Nazis, it's easier to just say no and lock it 

down, as opposed to make it useful for other purposes. We've got a 

$10000 computer system in each of these apparatus, and all I can do 

is push a button, I'm on scene or I'm not. But if I wanted to get Google, 

and say, ‘Okay. Well, what is this material that's in a hazmat event?’ 

Well, now I've got to use my phone. That doesn't make sense.” (FFR-008)

Microphone/Earpiece: Cord

“So firefighters are trying to develop ways to protect their radios. So 

some of them will wear them underneath their protective coat to 

protect the radio. The problem with that is that might interfere with 

the signal and the reception then. We also have the extended mic 

cords. So you got your radio in your breast pocket, and then the cord 

because that's the speaker. So that we can also hear-- we have to 

have the speaker close to our face so we can hear and then talk into 

the speaker. But those cords aren't rated for heat. One huge place 

where those radios can fail is the cord. If they're exposed to 160 

degrees, they could fail.” (FF-S-033)

Microphone/Earpiece: Earpiece

“We recently got the wire earpiece, kind of like a Secret Service 

agent, if you want to call that. But you've got to remember to put that 

on before you put a mask and helmet on, because once all that stuff's 

on, you can't get it back in without taking it off.” (FF-U-030)

Microphone/Earpiece: Wireless mics

“The mic in the fire service has become kind of a big issue. We're 

pretty early adapters at [city]. We tried a Bluetooth system. And the 

problem with a Bluetooth system is it has to pair every time you turn 

it on. And it doesn't always pair. And then you're trying to smash the 

button to make it pair. And so we got rid of it.” (FF-S-022)

Mobile Data Computer (MDC): Navigation/Mapping

“It's expected that you should know your area and know how to get 

there. We'd have just that function on our MDCs that we can route 

to a call. Maybe that is the biggest problem we have with technology, 

it's just horribly out of sync and, you get turn right now, you know. 

Five miles after your-- or, just continue ahead, and, it's just kind of 

odd directions.” (FF-U-007)

Overwhelmed: Sensory overload

“So I call that saturation overload. And that happens a lot on 

incidents that are kind of beyond your scope. Obviously, a medical 

call is within your realm or your scope. It's easily handled. Bigger the 

incident, you're dealing with the human factor, the mind at the 

process. But if you coupled that with more degrees of difficulty with 

today's technology, you run into a-- it's like two trains running into 

each other. I have to go and get data from here, or from this 

computer, I have to listen to this radio, this channel has 20 different 
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frequencies, 10 different-- there is a point that says keep things 

simple and you do have to-- because of the task at hand.” (FF-U-028)
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FF Requested Functionality

Fig.7. FF Requested Functionality Categories and Subcategories
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Real-Time Technology: Live video & images

“The MDTs have the ability to take pictures. So let's say I go on a 

hazmat, and I want to take a picture of said white substance so I could 

pass it back out to the hazmat unit. I mean, in theory, the way the 

infograph program works, I should be able to take a picture and send 

it in a message. It would never send the-- it would never send the 

picture. I could send messages, but I could never send the picture...

So I don't know if it's a capacity thing, or if it's blocked, or what the 

issue was. But I was like, this would be a great thing. I'm the first unit 

in on this hazmat call, and they want more information on it, and I 

just go Yeah, ‘Here you go.’ And, in theory, it's on our secure network 

and all that stuff, so.” (FF-U-043)

Real-Time Technology: Live video & images (aerial)

“So earthquakes and special events, they're kind of the same thing. I 

want the ability to do live satellite mapping... I still have to go out in 

a fire engine and drive every single street and do a windshield survey 

of my district to know what's going on in it. So what's the answer to 

that? Live satellite mapping. I need to be able to tap into a satellite 

15 minutes after an earthquake and go, ‘That block is devastated. 

This one's fine. This school got 300 kids in it, but it didn't collapse. It's 

okay. We don't have to go there.’ And so forth. So that live satellite 

mapping is huge. So when it comes to special events, same thing. 

How do I monitor my special event live with that kind of aerial view?”

(FF-U-016)

Real-Time Technology: Live video & images (perimeter)

“When we're responding to calls. I think two things. For me, I think it 

would be awesome to have real-time video of locations and whether 

it would be something with a satellite kind of thing or whatnot. And 

that's been talked about before where every street has cameras. And 

you're going to this address, and you hit this button or maybe the 

main can tell you, but you hit this address and it pops up, a camera 

pops up and gives you a good, real-time, visual shot of that street. 

And you could look for, “Is there smoke blowing across the street, or 

is there--?” So that would be awesome.” (FF-U-025)

Real-Time Technology: Live video & images (other visual)

“I would just love to see a manageable picture from [reporting party] 

to end user, a way to-- a picture's worth a thousand words. Let's get 

those pictures out there. And I know dispatchers might not want to 

see that or whatever... So a picture's worth a thousand words, and I 

think that's the other thing. Get it out there.” (FF-R-019)

Real-Time Technology: Live video & images (interior)

“So we're on a subway issue and sometimes radios don't work 

underground. And [chief], calling me on my personal phone, 

Facetimed. He's like, ‘Hey look, we're going down here. Come on, 

come with me.’ He's like, playing. He thought it was so funny. He was 

like, ‘Here, watch the incident.’ He pointed it towards with this thing 

sparking. So I'm upstairs in my buggy, Facetime. I can see what's 

going on in the tunnel... So yeah, there's technology out there and a 

lot of us want to use it and adopt it.” (FF-U-044)

Real-Time Technology: Traffic & Navigation

“[Something] they should have done years ago, [is] more of a GPStype direction of travel, which is huge. City's big. And if you are 

moving around from one area to another, say, I was a relieving 

officer, so I would go this firehouse and to that firehouse and then 

that district. So there was a lot of areas where I wasn't real familiar 

with, so even going from point A to point B, I couldn't tell you. So it 

would be nice to have that immediate, boom, hit a button. It shows 

you the travel route, just like the GPS that we use to go anywhere 

else, should pop up immediately and give you the quickest route and 

the more--so those kinds of things are coming, hopefully.” (FF-U-025)
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Real-Time Technology: Drones

“I thought that would have been a great thing, if we could actually fly 

a small drone into a fire building just to get a handle on number of 

victims, where they're located, fire conditions, things like that.” (FFU-029)

Tracking: Responder location

“We talked a little bit about whether it's on the radio, or on my air 

pack, or my SCBA or something, but the ability to track me from the 

outside. For the chief, to be able to look at a computer screen, 

outside, and watch where I am in the building... A breadcrumb so that 

if something happens to me and I push this orange button and I say, 

‘I'm in trouble.’ ... He can show everybody he's right here. Go get him. 

We just killed a firefighter in [city]. They looked for an hour for him. 

They couldn't find him. So those are the big things in technology I'd 

like to see.” (FF-U-002)

Tracking: Search technology

“So I wanna see a full-time drone unit. I think it would be very 

beneficial to the fire department. Probably three people with a van 

at a station that could respond 24/7. We can save lives. It's not just 

to view fires. That's nice... But where we could really make a

difference is out at [town] where we have a lot of cliff rescues and 

surf rescues and we can send the drone over, locate the actual victim. 

Because we spend a lot of time searching for the victim because it's 

very difficult to get an exact location on a cliff where you can't see 

the bottom... there's great benefits out there to save life with a 

drone, but we don't have the staff. I mean, can you imagine going to 

the mayor, ‘I'm going to hire three more people and pay the drone 

unit.’” (FF-U-016)

Tracking: Caller location

“So knowing where the-- so we spend half our time trying to figure 

out where the emergency is. So if we could use technology to better 

locate people, whether it's through cell phone pinging and-- I don't 

know if that's-- if I've watched too much TV. But we can translate cell 

phone GPS coordinates... And then layer that onto my map so I know 

exactly where to go.” (FF-U-044)

Functionality: Clearer communications

“So I would like the ability with all the gear -since we're talking about 

communication - better communication with the people immediately 

around me. Specific to structure fire use. We live in a world now 

where once I put all that gear on, I could scream at the top of my 

lungs, and you would be hard-pressed to understand what I'm saying. 

And so, we turn to things like voice amplifiers and that technology. 

We're currently trying to test some Bluetooth technology on. When 

I'm in a big room with a group of firefighters, as a captain, trying to 

say, ‘I want you to knock down that door. And I want you to spray 

that hose line. And I want you to break out that window.’ I have to 

walk and slap you on the shoulder and do this, because I have a big 

muffle right here.” (FF-U-002)

Functionality: Reliability

“Just better reliability. I actually don't like the technology as much or 

using it as much. I think we rely on it too much.” (FF-U-042)

Functionality: Improved functionality

“Half the houses in this [county] have been up for sale at some point 

in time. So the floor plan of those houses are available. And, you 

know, it's all public out there. You just got to go out and get it and 

put it in there and the tie it in to be able to use it. That's a problem. 
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We don't take that data and mine it and then regurgitate it when we 

need it. And 'cause we don't have the systems to do it.” (FF-R-051)

Functionality: Better coverage

“I'd like to have radios that I know work all the time. Get through 

whatever we need to get through, be it a high rise or subway incident 

or anywhere.” (FF-U-027)

Functionality: Longer battery life

“The question of anything technology for the fire service, is it's 

already there at NASA, it's just not here, would be battery 

technology... Battery technology is always a limitation for any rescue 

service because-- how great is that radio? It's terrific. How long's that 

battery last? 45 minutes. Okay, so it's not that terrific, right? I could 

get you from Mars once, and then the battery dies, right? And that's 

with our thermal imagers, with our radios, with our rescue tools. You 

name it. We are limited by the distance of a power cord or the 

distance of battery. Or sometimes, if you are not going to go electric, 

the amount of fuel that you have to power the machine that's going 

to give you-- that you're bringing to the scene to-- you know what I 

mean? So I think battery life is the new future towards, how do we 

fix some of those problems you're-- if the batteries lasted longer on 

anything you have, everything would be better.” (FF-U-012)

User Interfaces: User friendly

“In a perfect world, I could have my tablet and have my whole 

information come in. And I could hit a button, and go to a map view. 

And then, manipulate my map. And then hit another button and my 

pre-fire would pop-up. I wouldn't have to search for a pre-fire 

because right now, I have to search a little bit. And all that takes time. 

And this is all information that-- as a first to arrive an officer, you need 

to process it quickly so you can quickly formulate a plan and a 

strategy. And if you're spending your time waiting on technology 

then it's not necessarily going to be helpful. It's going to... be a 

hindrance. So those are things I'd like to see happen.” (FF-S-033)

User Interfaces: Hands free

“Ideally, the squad-level stuff would be hands-free voice activated so 

that I've got a chainsaw or tools in my hand, but I can say in my 

protected environment, ‘Hey Firefighter [name], can you help me 

over here with this?’ Not having to key anything. Not having to push 

anything. And then Firefighter [name] hears and acknowledges and 

he comes to help me, in that regard. If I need to talk to command or 

something like that, then, yeah, push a button or something or key 

up and, ‘Hey, this is ladder one. We need blah, blah, blah.’ or 

something like that.” (FF-U-030)

User Interfaces: Non-verbal communication

“There's always that potential to, in theory, provide more 

information upon dispatch... And again, to have it available. You don't 

want all that clogging communication radio traffic, but at least to 

have that available on MDC to look at and maybe have a better idea... 

So it's a building that I've never been to or I'm not familiar with, so 

that information would be even more beneficial.” (FF-U-034)

Integrated Gear/Wearables: HUD

“A heads-up display in our face piece. So I've got the thermal imager 

attached to my face piece, so where I look, I've got a little heads-up 

display right in front of me. So I can either look out through my face 

piece and just see what's in the environment or I can glance down at 

that HUD and look through the thermal imager if the smoke is too 

thick for me to be able to see through otherwise. A HUD for the radio 

would not be a bad thing either. To put a display that mirrors the 
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display on my radio so I can see what my coverage is, I can see what 

talk group I'm on. I can see all the stuff.” (FF-S-040)

Integrated Gear/Wearables: In-mask microphone/earpiece

“I wish there were a way to somewhat similar to our AGA3 masks with 

diving under the water where I can be under the water blowing 

bubbles and I can hear my tender perfectly and he or she can hear 

me perfectly, yet in a structure fire... the incident communicator's 

like, ‘Engine whoever that was, could you say your last transmission?’

They're having a hard time because they've got their face piece on. 

The hoses are loud. The saws are loud. And the microphone is out 

here. My lapel mic is way out here or down here or somewhere out 

here. It would be nice to have it integrated somewhere near my ears. 

And I don't know if that ends up being something wireless. It seems 

like they could have something that would be more wireless that you 

could or when I was in the military, we used to use little, like a little 

throat thing. So you just put it on right here and then my 

transmissions are completely clear and an earbud piece that goes in 

your ear and now I can hear really well instead of this exposed to the 

environment and not close to my speaking thing and my hearing 

thing. So I don't know. For me that's, especially at the task level, when 

the firefighters are trying to actually communicate critical functions 

during critical times to an incident commander or to somebody else 

that's a supervisor of a task. ‘Hey, I'm trying to get this done,’ or 

whatever. We seem to be missing that piece.” (FF-U-020)

Integrated Gear/Wearables: Responder Vitals

“Whatever NASA is doing could work for us because it's the same 

thing. It's emergency responders in a dangerous situation with a 

limited amount of resources and time. That you need to know 

 

3 The Divator diving mask is known as the “AGA Mask”, since the first 

generation of the full-face mask was developed by the AGA Corporation.

everything about them. If one were to go down, how to help them 

quickly. Their issue is distance and help. And for us, our issue is 

temperature, heat in the building. But in the same respect, I got 30 

minutes of air on my back, and if a floor falls through, you need to 

know-- you would love to know my pulse, my respiration, and all that. 

‘Hey, he's breathing and his heart is beating. We're good, guys. Let's 

go get him.’ Or, ‘No pulse. No respiration. This is even worse.’ Right?”

(FF-U-012)

Integrated Gear/Wearables: PPE Technology

“The more integrated it is into our protective equipment that it's not 

so ancillary or exterior that it bogs us down, the more-- because I 

really am asking somebody to be a triathlete. And all these extra 

clothes and anything that's cumbersome, wires or anything, is going 

to be a hazard. And so the more streamlined we can make it, lighter,

faster, longer battery life, all those things, protection... that can only 

help us.” (FF-U-001)

Physical Ergonomics: Robustness

“I think [the radio] is an awesome tool... 50 % bad, 50 % good. But for 

firemen, it needs to be built by Fisher-Price®. It's got to be bacteria 

resistant. It's got to be waterproof. You've got to be able to throw it 

in the dishwasher. It's got to go through high temps, got to go 

through low temp. It can't have thin wires. It's got to have big buttons 

because I'm wearing gloves. It's got to be built for a three-year old. 

This is not. Because this is how we use it. We use it in the water. We 

use it in the cold. We use it in the hot. We use it with calls.” (FF-R019)
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Physical Ergonomics: Smaller and lighter

“So I think smaller, lighter weight versions of all the equipment we 

already have, would be the wish of almost anybody. The number one 

line-of-duty injury for firefighters is usually vehicle accidents, and 

cancer, and some of those things. But a lot of times the injuries are 

back, knees, hips, so those are all repetitive stress things that happen. 

So that's the thing you'd like to see reduced, right?” (FF-U-012)

Physical Ergonomics: Fewer devices

“We have one thermal imaging camera. We send one in with every 

group of firemen that go in. So they have that technology there. But 

the people in the front that are on the nozzles that are doing the job-

- to be able to talk to them and to tell them, ‘Hey, I see this,’ or, ‘I see 

that,’ because you're focused on your one job. I think that would 

bring more value than everybody having $50 000 worth of stuff 

attached to them... When maybe not everybody needs that.” (FF-S022)

Physical Ergonomics: Larger devices

“You need relatively simple what I call ‘Fisher-Price® technology.’ Big 

shapes, big buttons, colors, things like that so that I don't have to 

scroll down menus and things like that. I need it very simple because 

I don't have the time or the mental capability or the bandwidth to be 

looking at a lot of different things.” (FF-S-035)

Interoperability: Software/Hardware compatibility

“If you had the pre-fire information sort of embedded in the buildings 

or that transmitted to the central dispatch center and then 

transmitted to your personal device. And so everybody was carrying 

around their personal device like that had access to all those things 

and it was compatible with all those different applications.” (FF-S035)

Interoperability: Interagency communication system

“Now with our incident management team, is one thing we struggle 

with is when we go... on wildland fires, we work with different federal 

agencies, I can't talk to them. So locally, we do pretty good, but when 

we get outsiders coming, or we go to the outside, all bets are off.”

(FF-S-036)

Microphones/Earpieces: Wireless

“I think that the development of Bluetooth wireless technology for 

clear, better communication built into your air pack would be 

fabulous. And it needs to be bombproof, bulletproof, and so there 

can't be any loss of communication in smoke, heat, and all the other 

things that go along with it.” (FF-U-014)

Microphones/Earpieces: Specialized earpieces

“It's a huge step for us to be able to have [earpieces]. The only step 

further is that if it's ever possible, some departments have some that 

are molded to each individual's ear. Because I've noticed, sometimes, 

with that, I would prefer that ear piece far more when trying to listen 

to that without a mic, because there's so much going on, it's hard. 

You have to lean over anyways. Having an ear piece in is great, but 

I've found several times they were popped out. And when I'm in the 

middle of something and I can't reach up and grab it right away, so I 

have to remember, “Okay, I'll pop that back in.” And I think that 

problem is somewhat avoided with the ones that are molded to 

individuals, the specific individual's ear.” (FF-S-035)

Radios: Channel switching

“The one thing I think we lack is just to have [our equipment] more 

seamlessly kind of aligned with when we go to a call. If we can hit a 

response button and have all the equipment on the fire engine, or 
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whatever unit that you're on, automatically go to that assigned 

channel.” (FF-U-007)

Radios: Multiple talk groups

“Like the military, public safety will often operate in kind of a squad 

mentality, that you may have a bigger incident with incident 

command and commanders and stuff that you need to talk to, but 

you have these little squads everywhere that also need 

communications amongst themselves. And so we're starting to see 

some people that are kind of piecemealing it together, but you have 

the kind of deal where it's almost like two radios within one, where 

you can hear the command level stuff going on, as far as updates and 

what's going on, but you would have the ability to, while hearing that, 

still have a squad-level communications.” (FF-U-020)

Radios: Prevent accidental transmissions

“The only thing that I ever really thought of that I think might make 

an improvement is on the push-to-talk button. Having to push two on 

each side before you can transmit because a lot of times you know, 

like I said, everyone has a radio. If you're up on a roof or you're in 

confined space, and you're beating away at something with an ax, 

your push-to-talk button gets hit [crosstalk] on accident frequently, 

and when that happens, it ties up the radio for about three or four 

seconds... It's a single button. So I don't think it would be that big of 

a deal that'd require you to squeeze both sides.” (FF-U-010)

All-In-One: Tablets

“I would love to have a tablet that I could get my calls on, that I could 

do my maps on, that I could do my pre-plans on, that I could have my 

inspection ship too. Because we still get stacks of dot-matrix-printed 

paper inspections. That I could do my EMS reports on. So I've got a 

mobile data computer mounted in the rig that I push en route and do 

all that. I've got a smaller one in the back, we take in for calls and 

enter information, and use it to transfer over via Bluetooth to the 

ambulance company. But I'd love to have one thing that I could just 

carry-- that I could put my rig and put it in a docking station, use it to 

go en route. Get my maps and do my inspections, do my reports, do 

my pre-plans, do all that stuff. And I would love to see that one day, 

and when you came into the station, everything just downloaded into 

the system and you were good.” (FF-S-017)

All-In-One: Software & apps

“I would like to have-- so we use a lot of maps, obviously. And our 

dispatch program has a map. And then there's a separate icon and 

Internet site that has our hydrant apps and GIS. And then I have to go 

to a third website to get the federal railroad map of the railroad 

system. And then I have a separate app for metro. And I'm like, 

‘Maybe I watch too many movies. I want it all on one.’ I want one 

giant thing with lots of different layers that I can turn off and on to 

get the data I need. That's my expectation as an end user and they're 

not there.” (FF-U-044)

Mobile Apps: Information references

“There's schematics that are available in these apps where you can 

pull up any type of car and automatically know where the high 

voltage is running, where you can cut it, where you shouldn't, where 

fuel lines are, things of that nature. So does the car have one battery? 

Does it have two? ... A lot of things that are important, and airbags. 

So that's technology that's there. But again, it's on an app and that's 

costly, but that's something I would like to see us go to eventually 

where you should be able to pull up on a scene and either on your 

computer in the rig or an iPad automatically puts in the first ten of 

the VIN number, it'll pop up that car. And you'll know right there that 
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you have in your hand where it's safe to cut, where it's safe to 

stabilize, how many batteries there are, if it's electric, if it's partial 

hybrid, if it's even hydrogen. There are a lot of different vehicles that 

are out there. That'd be beneficial for us.“ (FF-U-021)

Mobile Apps: Discipline-specific apps

“I'm sure there are a million apps out there. I mean, I think that's part 

of the problem too. There are so many options for things. Everything 

is super cool, and let's have that in its latest and greatest. And then 

you go to use it, and you're like, “Oh, maybe that wasn't so cool.” So, 

I mean, a lot of it's trial and error, but I feel like if some of these 

companies could get together and have one big app that kind of 

addressed all of the needs that fire service has-- because there's apps 

for hazmat, there's apps for special rescue, there's apps for-- I mean, 

so putting something all together... like the fire service app and 

having it be broader, then I think that would be kind of cool instead 

of all of these individual things.” (FF-S-037)

Futuristic: Smart buildings “I mean, in a perfect world, to me, in the future, I would pull up to a 

building that was on fire, and the building would tell me what I had 

going on. So I may be able to, at some place in the building that I knew 

it existed, I may be able to get all my information before entering the 

building. For instance, how many people are in this building right 

now? The building would know. And the building could tell me, ‘There's four occupants that are currently in the bedrooms on the 

third floor...’ I mean, that would be-- I mean, talk about affecting our 

job tremendously... if we had smart buildings in the future, that 

would be awesome.” (FF-U-029)
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EMS Technology Problems

Fig.8. EMS Technology Problems Categories and Subcategories
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Radio: Dead zones

“They can't hear us in the hospital. Sometimes, I've got to come out 

into the bay so they can hear us. So if I'm in the hospital in the ER, 

and I'm transporting patient care and, ‘Ambulance 42, we need you. 

Can you--?’ Yeah. I won't be able to hear them.” (EMS-U-012)

Radio: Traffic

“Sometimes radio, if it's a major incident, a major emergency, only 

one person can talk at a time. So if you're trying to get urgent 

messages out, technology will not allow you to do that because only 

one person can talk, and you can only talk for limited periods of 

time.” (EMS-S-015)

Radio: Channel switching

“Probably 80 % of our guys couldn't find them; they use them so 

rarely.” (EMS-U-003)

Radio: Usability

“I think those emergency transmission buttons on the radios need to 

be more effectively monitored or used and or protected so the 

incidental bumps don't happen.” (EMS-S-006)

Reliability: Unreliable technology

“I remember the days of mobile data computers going in and we 

could be going on the road. I'm looking at a dispatch on a computer, 

and all of a sudden, the computer just completely shuts off on me. Or 

I'm trying to respond on a call and the computer communications is 

too slow.” (EMS-S-014)

Reliability: Redundancy

“And then we use the Map, just the Google Maps. I use Google Maps 

and the Apple maps. And there are addresses that do not exist in 

there, in both. And we have map books for old technology. When the 

dispatch tells us where we're going, it gives us a cross street and a 

map page.” (EMS-R-007)

Reliability: Unreliable transmissions

“So for the most part here you hear dispatch calling to see if you’re 

okay. So you send somebody back to the truck to tell them you’re 

okay. You can hear on your portable you know it’s garbled but you 

can hear you just can’t respond. So you’ll tell them you know yeah 

we’re okay then come back. The problem with that is you know 

service where you just have you and your partner now you’re down 

one in the house there trying to work on somebody so often times if 

it’s a real bad situation we just won’t answer. I mean you know we 

just won’t answer until we can get back to the truck because we’re 

more interested in the patient’s wellbeing than we are letting 

dispatch if they send us somebody else great we got somebody else 

you know.” (EMS-R-018)

Interoperability: External interoperability

“When we back away, we would allow the police to do what they do...

But what happens is, let's say, sometimes our communication center 

will tell us, ‘Hey, scene is not secure, based upon what we're hearing. 

Wait.’ Then we will stage at a certain location away from the incident, 

so that the police can come. Well, then the police has to call their 

dispatcher. Their dispatcher has to talk to our dispatcher, and then 

our dispatcher tells us that we can go in.” (EMS-S-014)

Interoperability: Internal interoperability

“And each one has to be learned, and you have to learn all of the little 

intricacies of them. And lots of times, that's not a big user base 

because we're not that big an industry... It's very specific. You have 

to learn very specific things to run a certain vendor's safe software 

platform.” (EMS-R-008)
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Connectivity: Reception

“I know we have issues with WiFi every once in a while. If I'm on the 

WiFi of the computer and then I drive to the hospital and now I'm 

inside the hospital writing my report and I'm on the hospital's WiFi 

and I go to leave, there is a space in between where I'm on neither 

network until I get away from the hospital. And I've had reports just 

get lost.” (EMS-S-015)

Connectivity: Bandwidth issue

“The only real issue we have with cell phones is, again, certain events, 

New Year's Eve. Really giant crowds can overwhelm the system, and 

so occasionally we'll have connection problems there.” (EMS-U-003)

User Interfaces: Ineffective and inefficient

“Paper reports are the easiest you can get. I mean they were quick. I 

had paper reports down to a you know a 10 minute deal and it could 

be a complete report you know now I got to write my paper report 

but I can’t write my narrative yet so I write my paper report with all 

my demographics then I go on to the computer and write my 

narrative then I have to go to a separate computer app to pull up my 

times to write on my report and then after that I got to take a copy 

of it and put it with whatever drugs I use, submit that, then I’ve got 

to put my we used to have to put that into a computer system then 

after that.” (EMS-R-018)

User Interfaces: Alerting

“We used to have a technology here that would, you had fog and you 

would beep it in when you would drive, and it would keep track of 

your driving, your speed, around the curve thing. I'm sure it had some 

kind of driver scope inside the ambulance to tell you if you're taking 

the turn, all that stuff. Everybody hated it and the day it got uploaded 

every month. And they didn't really use it punitively. But it made 

noise. So it clicked when you come around a turn. And if you take the 

turn too fast at all, it would alarm. It was so annoying. And even if you 

were hitting this at a normal speed, it was telling you you were taking 

it too fast. Let alone when you were actually going fast, then it would 

just alarm the whole time. So everybody hated it. We kind of 

mutinied. And when we merged, we got rid of it.” (EMS-R-007)

User Interfaces: Modality

“I can't get information from dispatch straight to me that says, ‘Hey, 

this is a dangerous—' without having to make it out loud and 

everybody hears it.” (EMS-S-005)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure: Implementation/Installation issues

“But basically, because [the CAD database] maintains that large 

currently-used data set, that active data set of like three years. If 

we've transported somebody anytime in the last three years, it'll pull 

up at least. Now, with the new systems - we just transferred over the 

new system at the beginning of this year - I don't think they moved 

all that data over from the old system.” (EMS-U-017)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure: IT management

“You have to deploy it on portable equipment, which is out of your 

control a lot of times. It's out on an ambulance somewhere. If 

somebody's having a problem, a technology problem in the 

ambulance, they're paramedics, they don't go to IT school, they go to 

paramedic school, okay?” (EMS-R-008)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure: Cost a prohibitor

“Technology is very expensive. You don't just buy it and you're good. 

You've got to maintain it... You've got to upgrade it.” (EMS-R-008)
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Implementation/IT Infrastructure: No user requirements 

collected/considered

“[RE: technology requiring internet connection] I think that when 

they’re bringing in technology I think they and maybe they look at 

this but it seems like they don’t to me because I’m on the outside. I’m 

just the person that uses it. I don’t know the ends and outs but it 

seems as though when you’re in a rural setting that those things 

should be considered when they’re choosing yes. There may be a 

cheaper way to go and it maybe budget friendly to our county but 

when we’re one of the more rural counties and we have all of these 

areas that we can’t even get radio reception, we can’t get cell phone 

reception then you need to recognize that some of these things are 

not going to work for us.” (EMS-R-019)

Technology Outdated: Outdated

“Technology advances can be an issue, maybe as not catching as fast 

as we want. Or maybe we're using a system that's one down from 

what's already happening because I'm sure you know as well as I do, 

technology is always moving, and a jurisdiction has to operate under 

here because they've already spent a lot of money on a particular 

ends, and it may not communicate with that technology because it's 

outdated.” (EMS-S-014)

Physical Ergonomics: Physical discomfort

“We really need a hard-wired keyboard. It's not easy to type these 

reports on this [soft] keyboard.” (EMS-U-017)

Physical Ergonomics: Battery problems

“We have a cardiac monitor which plugs in because it's battery 

operated. We have a suction unit that is battery operated. We have 

this, that, and the other thing that's all battery operated. It's all 

plugged in. When an ambulance is not running, it's on a shoreline 

plug... And if you forget to plug your ambulance in for an hour, it's 

dead. I mean, it's just the electric load, which is a technology issue as 

well... Whatever else we hang in an ambulance cannot be a power 

concern.” (EMS-R-008)

Physical Ergonomics: Bulky and heavy

“[Stretchers have] been fairly definitively proven to reduce the 

number of at work back injuries. They also weigh three times as much 

as the other ones. You can argue that that weight is for-- the pros 

outweigh the cons. Our Toughbooks are old. Some of our equipment 

is a little bit clunky, but some of our stretchers are the big ones.”

(EMS-U-004)

Security constraints: Access control

“Although we have access to a sort of an enterprise level messaging 

system, it's locked down so tight by IT that it's essentially unusable. 

So nobody uses it.” (EMS-U-003)

Mobile Data Computer (MDC): Functionality

“Our department has those MDCs, but it's kind of underutilized for a 

computer. I mean, all we do is get this generalized information that 

we probably could have sent in the '80s. We just didn't have the 

ability to make it small.” (EMS-S-005)

Mobile Data Computer (MDC): Navigation/Mapping

“The one thing that seems to have been lacking on our ambulance 

for years is a built-in GPS. So we don't have the ability to open CAD 

computer and sort of GPS ourselves if we're confused of where we're 

going.” (EMS-U-011)
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EMS Requested Functionality

Fig.9. EMS Requested Functionality Categories and Subcategories
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Functionality: Reliability

“The problem is the technology versus the actual performance. I 

mean, that's my big pick... I understand advertising people have a job 

too. But you better get out there and use it before you try and sell it 

to some people. Because you can kill people if it doesn't work right.”

(EMS-R-008)

Functionality: Better coverage

“I wish the radios didn't time out. I wish they worked in all locations 

in the sense of, if I have to talk to a physician or a doctor on the radio 

and I can't do it in a basement, I have to leave the patient and walk 

outside. Or go to my unit that has a repeater or a better radio system 

to try to deliver a message out.” (EMS-S-015)

Interoperability: Patient Care Reporting

“Maybe something along the lines that patient tracking because 

that's a good tool. Doesn't get used a lot though. I think something 

that would be an automatic download to the Red Cross. If we had 

victims, multiple victims from an incident-- on our MRU, once we had 

their name and information, if we could tap a drop-down menu and 

say Red Cross or whatever, then that information would go right to 

their databank. And they would know where that person is. And the 

reason why we would notify them is if we didn't have-- if it was like a 

disaster situation, you know? Let's say a plane crashed. We have 100 

people. If we have that information. I would like that we would be 

able to send it to them immediately... So they have it when we get 

there. They know we're coming with that person. And they know that 

the Red Cross has been notified.” (EMS-U-009)

Interoperability: Interagency communication system

“It would be nice to talk across the country to other people. But in 

reality, it's a regional thing. So we need to be able to communicate 

within our region. And there are national talk groups that we could 

use if, God forbid we had some kind of big incident here. But by and 

large, I mean we don't-- we need to communicate with the 

jurisdictions that neighbor-- that surround us. I don't necessarily 

need to talk to my friends in Rhode Island I used to work with, on the 

radio from here. So it's basically making good with your neighbors 

and having good communications with them.” (EMS-S-016)

Interoperability: Software/Hardware compatibility

“I was at a technology conference that's put on by our vendor of a lot 

of our software, and it was-- everybody was complaining about this 

one software program like, ‘Why hasn't this been updated in years?’

And they're like, ‘We bought this company from a company that 

bought another company that bought another company. And the 

guys that wrote this code, there are still people that are using the 

initial version. If we change something here, we have no idea. We

might shut that service down that's still using that old technology.’ So 

backwards compatibility is a big deal, too.” (EMS-R-008)

User Interfaces: User friendly

“We do have a talk around channel, which is like a chitchat channel 

that I can-- I'm going to be lazy and say that it's really hard to get to 

and you really have to double-check. It's not a quick fix and then I can 

deliver a message that I don't want the whole county to hear. So you 

have to switch to--Oscar. Yeah. O, Oscar. So it's all the way towards 

the end of the alphabet. If I'm always on Alpha or Bravo to go all the 

way to Oscar, confirm that I'm on seven's talk group. It would just be 

easier if a push button or something that would just give me that talk 

around just to be able to deliver that message a lot quicker.” (EMS-S015)
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User Interfaces: Non-verbal communication

“If I'm trying to go on scene, this happens all the time where the 

patient can see me pull up and the fire department can see me pull 

up, or maybe there's a bystander trying to flag me in because it's their 

emergency, and so they're the ones freaking out. And I sit there in my 

ambulance, and I try and key up and the radio's-- Okay, so then, I try 

and key up again and the bystander's freaking out and waving me in. 

And I'm just waving to them like, ‘Hi. Yeah, I'll be there in a minute.’ 

... And then I try and key up, and this time, it goes through, so now I 

can put myself on the scene. Or if I had a CAD system, I could hit a 

button that said on scene. So that way, if dispatch was busy talking 

with someone, and they wanted to know if I made it, they could look 

at their screen and see, ‘Oh, yeah, they've put themselves on scene.’ 

And that way my time is accurate.” (EMS-U-004)

Real-Time Technology: Live video & images

“If you could see everywhere. The calls where they can pull it up--

because in [city], there's cameras everywhere and they can pull up 

certain cameras and be like, ‘Based on this we can see that it's this 

way on the highway. We can see it's at this intersection. We can see 

it's at this corner. We can see that it's behind this building.’ There's a 

lot more things that they can see. “ (EMS-R-007)

Real-Time Technology: Drones

“We hope to have a fully operational drone program at some point 

in time that would assist in search and rescue, or maybe even an 

aerial platform that we could observe what's going on real-time at a 

scene or something... So it's a vast area. And if we could keep track of 

our medics and the situation, the crowd movements and stuff like 

that, using that aerial platform, that would be something that we 

would be involved in, as well.” (EMS-U-001)

Real-Time Technology: Traffic & Navigation

“I mean, if the regular person running an errand, and then an Uber 

has to find an address quickly and can do it accurately, then you'd 

think that it'd be quite important for the ambulances to be able to do 

that. You can be detailed to an area you're not familiar with... So if 

the average person would do it, it seems crazy that the ambulance 

don't have it yet, but they don't... I would think that would be on 

everybody's wish list that drives a vehicle, yeah, to make it a little 

easier.” (EMS-U-011)

Tracking: Responder location

“I can tell you that for large-scale events, from the command side of 

things, I would like to see or have some type of a [inaudible] saying, 

‘Okay, you know what? These ambulances are coming from this 

direction and these ambulances are coming from this direction. 

Where can I place them so that they don't running into each other or 

direct them [crosstalk]?’ ... Some kind of GPS locator. I know it exists, 

it's just that we don't have it.” (EMS-U-010)

Tracking: Caller location

“I would say, location can never be specific enough. A lot of times, in 

this area, we have large buildings and so someone will say, [address] 

but that building has three sides. And they may work in the building 

so they know their address, but they're actually going to exit the 

building on some other street side and if they forget to tell the 

dispatch center that, we will show up to the front entrance, which is 

where we were dispatched. But then we'll say, ‘Can you call back to 

the calling party? Where are they?’ And then they say, ‘Oh, they're at 

the loading dock.’ Which means we now have to drive around. It 

would be much better to have that information. And they do a good 

job and sometimes callers are not great.” (EMS-S-016)
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Futuristic: Self-driving vehicles

“Self-driving ambulance is an interesting concept. And the reason 

why is because right now you rely on one individual in the back. And 

if you're treating, even if you're just treating one patient, not multiple 

patients, but a single patient, but a multi-system injured or ill patient 

that requires more than maybe one brain and more than one set of 

hands in order to better manage the treatment side of that patient's 

modalities, then you're doing it by yourself.” (EMS-U-001)

Futuristic: Emergency traffic light system

“Even tie that [self-driving ambulance] in with the traffic light system 

or something like that, so there's absolutely no interruptions. It 

maybe clears out the intersection before you get there. So it clears 

up traffic and you just go. And then you don't have to-- driving 50 or 

60 miles an hour, maybe you've set it to 40 miles an hour the whole 

time but you're never stopping “ (EMS-U-001)

All-In-One: Cell phones and/or radios

“If you could take a smartphone and put it on a radio, it would be 

ideal. So I could have five to six dependable apps that I use on my 

radio, I can utilize it as a phone if I needed to or wanted to, as well as 

to a radio communication and delivering messages.” (EMS-S-015)

All-In-One: Tablets

“So my wish list, by far, is an iPad for those rigs. An iPad mini would 

be perfect. Put it in an OtterBox case or whatever and it's going to be 

fine. I mean, the doctor's office that I got to go to, they have an iPad 

just to tell me how my visit was. That's how cheap they are. It's 

ridiculous that we don't have something like that that is more 

reliable, doesn't need a strong IT group to manage and function. As 

you probably know, Apples are really easy to use. We don't use it for 

a lot anyways and for what we use it for, I think we could do our 

inspections right on that thing. We could do our EMS call all on that. 

Because as it is, we've got the CF-19 or whatever it is. That's our MDC 

up front. And then we've got another $2000 computer in the back 

that we use for EMS calls to do logging, to do one thing. A $2000 

computer to do one thing. Just when we could have a $300 tablet and 

do the exact same. And we don't store anything on the hard drive. 

Everything gets sent. You don't even need a big one as far as memory 

goes. So that's my wish list, for sure. And we would only need one, 

hypothetically, mounted where the officer goes and the officer just 

hands it to the firefighter behind him or the engineer, actually. Our 

engineer is the one who does the documenting on our EMS calls 

because we're fortunate with staffing that it would be so easy, for 

sure.” (EMS-S-005)

Physical Ergonomics: Smaller and lighter

“Nowadays, [the MDC] should be like an iPad. Something simpler 

that's easier to touch, and you could almost pick it up and take it with 

you so you could continue relaying information.” (EMS-S-005)

Microphones/Earpieces: Wireless

“Definitely one of my wish lists would be we operate with a portable 

radio and everybody does - firefighters, paramedics, EMTs. It would 

be nice to have some form of remote. Like what you see how we 

utilize a cord that can get damaged in fires, if someone just shuts it in 

a door, or whatever, it would be nice to have some form of Bluetooth 

capable radio system.” (EMS-S-014)
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LE Technology Problems

Fig. 10. LE Technology Problems Categories and Subcategories
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Radio: Dead zones

“We get into terrain issues with the mountains and no matter how 

much we use to try to fill in our gaps, we're not going to put a 

750,000-dollar tower to fill in one canyon. But it's important for us to 

talk in that canyon...” (LE-U-020)

Radio: Traffic

“The airtime is usually what causes things to crumble because if I 

can't communicate because everybody's trying to get on the air-- if I 

can't communicate to people, I can't tell them what I need them to 

do. And you can have incidents fail because you can't get that 

direction out.” (LE-U-029)

Radio: Channel switching

“You chase someone down to the [subway] platform, at what point 

do you stop and say, ‘Excuse me, I need to go to C8? Hold on a 

minute. Hold on.’ And then go to C8.” (LE-U-011)

Radio: Usability

“But getting in a fight, hitting a button-- you turn on to the different 

stations here. I've hit it so many times where just that little button.”

(LE-S-027)

Interoperability: External interoperability

“With firefighters and EMS, it’s virtually impossible. And it's vice 

versa. It's virtually impossible for them to talk to us. It's very, very 

slow and very, very convoluted, because what we do is we get on the 

radio and we call our dispatcher. That dispatcher is one dispatcher 

for each district channel. And then, that dispatcher sends a message 

from their computer to the fire rescue dispatcher for that 

geographical area. And then, that person either contacts their--

either answers the question or has to ask their firefighter or EMS 

person whatever we're asking.” (LE-S-037)

Interoperability: Internal interoperability

“From a software perspective, I am tired of having a new sandbox for 

every single thing that I do. Our RMS doesn't really speak very well to 

our CAD... If I am going to take a call and I need to write a report, I'm 

going to run the person on the way to the call. But that never makes 

its way into RMS. So I'm going to type them into my CAD, even though 

it's on the same computer... So I would like to see an integration 

between all those separate systems that make it so I'm not repeating 

the same work over and over and over again, giving me more time to 

go out and do what I'm supposed to do, which is take calls.” (LE-U006)

Reliability: Unreliable technology

“Sometimes you have communication technology that doesn’t work. 

I mean it’s computer, it’s technology, it’s electronics right? They don’t 

always do what we want them to do. You know software has bugs.”

(LE-R-043)

Reliability: Redundancy

“So if two towers go down, the whole system crashes. That's why we 

have the backup for the cars. However, we have another backup. We 

have call boxes.” (LE-U-010)

Physical Ergonomics: Battery problems

“[The computer in car] would drain the battery. And so then, officers 

got in the habit of just always leaving their cars running.” (LE-U-030)

Physical Ergonomics: Robustness

“One of the issues that we see is that the equipment that's being 

issued is not rugged enough. I mean remember that as police officers 

were out there in the sun, we're out there in the freezing cold, in the 
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rain, they’re getting in and out of their police units so they equipment 

needs to be more rugged.” (LE-R-053)

Physical Ergonomics: Too many devices

“The shoulder mic, I wrap my earpiece around it to try to hold it in 

place. Then I've got cables that go back and attach to my vest to hold 

onto this. And then I've got the cable that comes around to my radio 

and then it locks on. So it's kind of cumbersome because you only 

have so much space to put so much technology and we're running 

out of room.” (LE-S-021)

Physical Ergonomics: Bulky and heavy

“So with the e-ticket writers, I think they're a bit bulky and big. So if 

we could have something even just a little bit smaller. Because when 

you're approaching a car in a traffic stop, you don't really want a lot 

of things in your hand or big things in your hand. You kind of want 

your hands to be as free as possible. We have a lot of things that we 

carry. So there's so much on our belts. And then we're adding body 

cameras. We've got a mic. And we've got everything just weighing 

you down.” (LE-U-007)

Physical Ergonomics: Physical discomfort

“And the computer where it's at, it's not really comfortable. I mean, 

I would hate to have to write a report in the car. My back would be 

killing me because you have to turn, and lean, and type... You could 

take it out but if you're in the driver's seat, your steering wheel is in 

the way.” (LE-U-024)

Physical Ergonomics: Display size

“They can go to data warehouse, and that's never going to happen. 

You're driving around. You can't do that. And you're moving, and the 

car's bumping, and the links are so tiny, you can barely get your finger 

on it.” (LE-U-023)

Physical Ergonomics: Safety concerns

“So in the police cars just-- one thing that I've always been aware of 

is they have so much stuff in the front seat, so you've got the 

computer and you've got the screen. This car went through national 

highway safety transportation tests with crash dummies, right? But 

now we put all this crap in here and when officers have accidents, 

and they have accidents, nobody has said this is safe or not. I'm sure 

there's been a lot of injuries from-- we don't look at that stuff when 

we buy this equipment. We just shove it in there. We just shove it in 

there and say it's good to go.” (LE-U-031)

Security constraints: Authentication

“Unfortunately that is one thing that, because we don’t have just a 

single vendor for all these different applications, that is one of the 

things that we really, really struggle with in law enforcement, is 

having some sort of single sign-on, or you know, we are constantly -

there is not a day that, I shouldn’t say a day, but there is not a week 

that goes by that I don’t have to change some sort of password to 

something, and you know, that is truly - that can be a real potential 

issue. Now, we have to balance that with, you know, why it is that we 

have to make these changes, but it can very, very detrimental; you 

know, I spend a lot of time - administrative time, simply changing or 

resetting passwords that people have forgotten or, you know, 

misplaced or whatever it may be, so certainly that is an issue for law 

enforcement, not just us; I mean, I am talking law enforcement in 

general.” (LE-R-059)

Security Constraints: Access control

“We have access to it, but there's certain aspects that we can sign 

into and then there's other stuff that we can't sign into. So like I said, 
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sometimes the station's the best place because everything's fair 

game there. Everything's going to work in there.” (LE-U-024)

User Interfaces: Ineffective and inefficient

“You need to be able to handle very quickly, because I can't be 

standing there with a ticket writer, having to enter 16 codes. I need 

it to be set in a manner where I can enter my specific jurisdictional 

code to make a traffic violation pop up, or type the first three letters. 

I can't sit there and type out, right turn on red, seat belt, but it has to 

be a quicker method of doing it. And I think that's where there are 

sometimes some challenges in the ability to make something work 

quickly and efficiently with the technology we have.” (LE-U-040)

User Interfaces: Modality

“On the street, I preferred the radio as opposed to PDT just because 

you can hear it and you're still paying attention. If you're trying to 

read it off the screen, you're distracted.” (LE-U-024)

Body camera: Functional issues

“But from an officer's perspective, that's scary. Because if I walk into 

a dark room and someone knocks me over on my head, I don't want 

you seeing everything in the room better than I see. I don't want the 

room to appear straight up and down when I'm upside down, 

because I'm going to make decisions based on what I'm experiencing. 

And if your video that you're watching in a nice cool air conditioned 

office later doesn't match what I experienced, you are now going to 

be conflicted.” (LE-U-006)

Body camera: Physical issues

“And there was protesters that were basically attacking the people 

attending the ball. And so we had to stand in between them. And 

people had this in the Magnum mount, and we were losing body 

cameras left and right because we were pushing and shoving.” (LE-U036)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure: Implementation/Installation issues

“At first the functionality of [the body camera] and getting it up and 

running was I think fairly difficult for us to do and some of our staff 

really pulled their hair out over getting it to work properly but it was 

really on the manufacturer’s side not on our side or our IT 

department side. It was more the installation of the product and the 

lack of support from the vendor that sold us the product.” (LE-R-042)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure: Cost a prohibitor

“But some type of repeater for in the building so if typically if our one 

of our deputies is in their office or back in the room where they write 

reports you’ll hear dispatch calling them and they can’t hear it 

because they’re kind of towards the innards of the building and so I 

don’t remember the name of what it was but I think we did get a bid 

or a quote to have it installed and it was like a hundred thousand 

dollars or $90000 and we’re like oh I guess we’re not getting it.” (LER-042)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure: IT management

“At least that's my-- they should mandate, ‘Hey you want federal 

funds for radios, then you have a radio unit.’ And you keep the-- and 

that way the new technology comes in, the new radios, the rebanding. I mean, I was taken off the street. Which I do what I'm told. 

But I was off the street for a year to do a re-banding project. So I went 

through 6200 radios citywide, the cars-- I was taking the radios out 

of the cars, unscrewing them... then putting them back in the cars 

and that's when I was able to, ‘Hey, that mic's been broken for years, 

what?’ And then the low-band radio, because they don't use it, they 
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hide the mic underneath the seat because it's in the way I was like, 

‘Okay,’ so that was my time to go and touch every car.” (LE-U-010)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure: No user requirements 

collected/considered

“So the police department didn't take an active role in what they 

were buying. They kind of the deaf nod, yeah, yeah, yeah, and then 

when they got what they got, it was like, ‘This is not what we want.’

So the CAD in the car, really important for the more detailed issues 

around trying to document what they're doing. But issues with 

bandwidth, issues with the modems, issues with the equipment in 

the car, trying to upgrade things that should have been tossed a long 

time ago.” (LE-U-011)

Connectivity: Reception

“MDTs also don’t work very often; they lose connection quite 

frequently and if you are trying to do something and it drops the 

signal so it’s frustrating.” (LE-S-064)

Connectivity: Bandwidth issue

“And it all comes back to the same thing, bandwidth. The more that 

you want the officers to be able to receive on their computers, you 

need the bandwidth.” (LE-U-012)

Overwhelmed: Sensory overload

“It's hard to drive, and listen to the radio, and look at the computer 

screen, and watch traffic and the bicycling. It's hard to everything. So 

at least with the computer, I can read kind of what's going on...

Because I'm trying to hear for other cars, other police cars... There's 

much traffic, you can usually get a couple seconds to read the 

computer really quick.” (LE-U-013)

Overwhelmed: Situational awareness

“You're distracted no matter what. You're not paying attention to 

your surroundings. I mean, back when I started, we didn't have 

computers... But now, with all the different functions, it makes 

actually seeing what's going on in the neighborhood harder. And 

somebody's looking at this box to tell them what's going on as 

opposed to actually looking at the surroundings and figuring out 

what's going on.” (LE-U-024)

Microphone/Earpiece: Cord

“Some of the things, I think, that would benefit our profession and 

some of it even already exists - it just needs to be improved a little bit 

- are shoulder mic system for our portable radios. It would be 

awesome to have that cordless opposed to a long cord that tends to 

either get caught in something or it can theoretically be used as a 

weapon against you, strangled with. I mean, typically, they're not, but 

quite frequently, we run into it getting pulled off your uniform shirt, 

or stretched, or gets caught on something where a Bluetooth-affixed 

microphone would be really nice or even a better headset system. 

And they make some nice stuff, but it's really expensive, and they're 

not going to buy that for 1 100 officers.” (LE-S-037)

Microphone/Earpiece: Earpiece

“Let's say you get into a fight. You're wrestling with the guy, it pops 

out. You can't put it back in while you're fighting somebody. You're 

not going to hear what's going on. Not that you wouldn't-- you're 

going to be fighting. You're going to be focusing, but you still can't 

hear anything. You don't know what's going on, if someone's coming 

to help you [hear] nothing.” (LE-S-027)
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Technology Outdated: Outdated “The CADs, I mean, they're outdated, man. I mean, even the new 

PDTs, they're super outdated.” (LE-U-023)

Technology Outdated: Incomparable to personal technology

“My phone has more computing power than what's needed to run 

the RMS now.” (LE-U-006)

Video: Data issues “If the audio/video had its own-- literally had its own broadband 

network where it traveled on, and it didn't touch any other part of 

your network, I think it's a good thing. I think it would really help 

solidify the quality of video that we get, we can get even more high 

def quality video coming. Because sometimes we got to dial it down 

because of the network that it's running on. You still see what you 

see but it could be a whole lot more high def. The cameras have the 

capability. We just got to dial it down because the system can't take 

it.” (LE-U-035)

Video: Surveillance videos “Downtown, we have a whole bunch of cameras. Being able to pull 

those up would be great. But as far as I know, we don't have a way of 

doing that in the cars. We have a unit that does, so you can ask them. 

If you want to find out-- if you want to utilize this camera and find out 

what's going on over here, you call this unit. And they look at it, and 

they relay to you what's going on. But there's no way for that officer 

to pull up that particular camera.” (LE-U-003)
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LE Requested Functionality

Fig. 11. LE Requested Functionality Categories and Subcategories
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Interoperability: Software/Hardware compatibility

“We pretty much have the worst computer-aided dispatch system... 

the ability for that particular product to integrate with other systems, 

we're finding, even though we were told, ‘Oh yeah, it's easy.’ It's not. 

And they're using it as a way to increase revenue by saying, “Okay. 

Well, if you wanted to integrate this way, it's going to cost.” So, yeah. 

It's been a really, really disappointing process. And that's one of the 

things just for in technology in general with, I think, most law 

enforcement agencies is there are many disparate systems that need 

to communicate, and that's one of the real challenges is getting our 

CAD system who's made by one vendor to talk to our RMS, records 

management system, who's made by another vendor and get all that 

information to feed to our analytics system, which is a completely 

another vendor, so those kinds of things are really a challenge.” (LES-015)

Interoperability: Interagency communication system

“I feel like we're so close [to neighboring departments] that we 

should be able to talk on the computer or something, you know? But 

they use a different program than we use, we use a different program 

than the sheriffs office use. So if it wasn't for cell phones and the 

crappy radio service, sometimes it would be that we couldn't get hold 

of somebody that's two blocks away from us... It would be nice if we 

all had the same kind of computer system or something so that there 

was always at least one way to communicate with that person. If a 

natural disaster happens or something and we lose radios and cell 

phones, how do we talk to each other? So that's kind of concerning.” 

(LE-R-002)

Interoperability: Body camera integration

“All the body-worn-- all the video that's happening. All of that needs 

to get integrated. Every bit of it needs to get integrated, and we're so 

far from that. I mean, we're struggling with that right now with how 

are we going to take body-worn and know what the call was and what 

was the officer doing and just all of that? As simple as a number for 

the event getting somehow tied to that video. I mean, it seems so 

simple. It's not, right?” (LE-U-032)

Interoperability: Interjurisdictional criminal data

“I'd kind of like more sharing between all the databases. I know we 

have [state database]. If you're certified in that, you can pull up 

pictures of people. But I think that all of those databases should just 

be rolled. The states should be able to communicate. You should be 

able to-- the county and the city, the court systems-- you should be 

able to, ‘Hey, you know, you're locking up this guy. You should 

automatically know he's got a pending court date for this,’ his arrest 

history for the last few months, if he's a gang member. Everything 

kind of needs to be tied in together because everything you have to 

pretty much run separately through different databases and through 

different ways. I think it would be a lot easier for officers if all that 

information was just all kind of integrated into one nice package. 

Federal warrants and stuff-- I would think we're at the time where 

instead of just a description of the person, you should have his arrest 

photo come through with that.” (LE-U-024)

Physical Ergonomics: Smaller and lighter

“In a perfect world, I would like technology that's small, that I can talk 

to and would get rid of all the stuff I have to carry. Some things are 

never-- I mean my gun, taser, that kind of stuff. That all makes sense. 

But some of the other stuff, if we could just kind of work it into one 

thing that was small and light possibly, that'd be ideal.” (LE-U-007)

Physical Ergonomics: Fewer devices

“I think my biggest gripes are that e-ticketing machine and just the 

fact that it's not well thought-out for the application. I don't think 
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there's any reason why it couldn't be done on the phone that I 

already carry or the computer that's already in the car. So integrating 

technology with stuff that we already have, that we already carry. 

Because when I'm on patrol, I carry 30 extra pounds of stuff, which 

doesn't count the two bags which are probably 30-pounds each of 

stuff that I keep in the car. So adding more stuff to all my stuff is more 

weight and redundant. So I think finding ways to use what we already 

carry... I think it's fairly mainstream that people have smartphones, 

and I think computers in the car is relatively mainstream. So adding 

technology or applications without adding something physical that I 

have to carry would be really nice.” (LE-R-018)

Physical Ergonomics: Robustness

“As these new [touchscreen] technologies come into the work force,

I think that some environments 24/7 operations 365 they’re always 

being used. They’re just not robust enough for some of the 

environments that we have here in county... so the robustness of the 

technology I think is something that often fails us and we’re 

challenged to keep it functioning properly even though it’s super cool 

sometimes it just doesn’t work in that environment so it would be 

nice to see some of these technologies, the organic technologies and 

different things that are coming out of these research labs, to be 

designed to be robust and usable instead of fragile and cool.” (LE-R042)

Physical Ergonomics: Larger devices

“If you get a chance to go in our cars and jump in there, jump in both 

versions. Don't just jump in the one that has the tablet. Jump in the 

other one that has the big monster machine, which we actually 

prefer, and I don't know why you would think that we would, but we 

do because of the fact that you can manipulate it and move it around. 

If it could be smaller, that'd be fantastic, but at the same time, the 

screen needs to be that size. You can't get a screen smaller but the 

keyboard and everything else-- and even the keyboard, I would say 

no. A standard size keyboard because we have big hands.” (LE-S-021)

Real-Time Technology: Live video & images

“Somehow maybe [victims] can give us access with the push of a 

button to their security cameras... Yeah. I mean, having us be able to 

gain access to their surveillance when we get there or if we're sent. 

Because what if it's a hostage situation where-- or a barricaded 

subject. We're not going in right away. We're going to stage out front 

and come up with a plan. What if we have access to that? Can they 

give us-- it's some sort of emergency button on their remote or on 

their phone that says, ‘Okay. Access can be granted to--' and then I 

don't know. Probably, it's feasible. So it might already exist. I don't 

know, so.” (LE-S-027)

Real-Time Technology: Live video & images (aerial)

“So there are CAD layers that are showing the exact or very similar 

exact design that what the building looks like on the map. But what 

would be better would be having Google Maps or a satellite image 

that we could actually look at. That would help us in a variety of ways. 

We have a foot pursuit. Now, we know that there's a coal field behind 

here they could be hiding out, there's a tree line behind we think they 

could be hiding out. And all we have is a pastel color background with 

a square outline of a potential building that could or may not be 

accurate.” (LE-U-005)

Real-Time Technology: Live video & images (perimeter)

“I'd like to be able to tap into our camera systems, be it our 

downtown-- our cameras around town or, more specifically, our body 

cams or cars. So that way, you can kind of see what you're getting 

into, or kind of see what your partner's getting into. (LE-U-003)” (LEU-003)
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Real-Time Technology: Live video & images (other visual)

“So we have in-car cameras. Right? And the technology is there for 

us to be able to stream what is going on in our car to our supervisors 

or anyone else, but we-- I think, mainly due to bandwidth, we do not 

have that feature turned on. But that would be something that would 

be kind of nice. If you were going to a call, to be able to look to see 

what your partner is currently seeing would be very helpful. So you 

can have an idea of maybe where I should come in from or if he's in 

trouble, what's going on or I look at the suspect before you even get 

there in case he bolts and just starts run.” (LE-U-003)

Real-Time Technology: Drones

“With the technology of the drones, I know we have them but 

immediate live feed to the people on the team. Not just me, but the 

other team leaders, and to be able to alter it or highlight it, put an 

edit into it, show them where I want them or where they need to be 

or where something is located. I think to me in my aspect that would 

be something that we would look, that would be awesome, 

outstanding technology.” (LE-R-052)

Real-Time Technology: Traffic & Navigation

“I think as technology moves forward, we should move forward. 

Instead of staying behind the times because there are so many 

different things that have come out that would make our job easier, 

like GPS on the phone, the computer telling us where to go, how to 

get there. So I think as technology progresses, we should progress 

with it.” (LE-S-038)

Real-Time Technology: Language translation

“Typically when [DWI] cases go to court, police officers aren't getting 

beaten because of the probable cause [inaudible] or the evidence 

isn't there. They're getting beat because somebody messed up 

procedurally through these tons of paper and forms. I would think 

some type of computerized system that you can hit play on, and you 

could eliminate the human error out of it and say no, I pressed play 

on the machine, the machine went through, when it got to the 

question, it read the question. I typed in the answer, and the entire 

thing is computerized where you're just literally hitting next, next, as 

they get to that part, would eliminate some issues on the police 

officers and those technicalities that a lot of DWIs or DUIs, wherever 

you're at, are getting thrown out on. Also it could be read in different 

languages, where they're complaining of some type of language 

barrier. It could be displayed on the screen on English where we know 

where they at, but it's reading to them in their native tongue. I think 

something like that would be great. I don't understand why that 

hasn't happened yet, something along those lines. But yeah, as far as 

advancement or something, that's the only thing over the years I've 

thought of would be a great tool.” (LE-U-057)

Real-Time Technology: Identification device

“I think an ability to identify folks, whether it would be using the new 

retina scanners or the fingerprint scanners. We have fingerprint 

scanners. They're just not as... competent as what I would like to see. 

Again, if there's prints in the federal system, I think if we had a better 

version of that, where we could very easily identify folks, I think that 

would be good.” (LE-S-033)

Functionality: Better coverage

“Having our tech work everywhere. It doesn't work everywhere. It 

doesn't work in the jail, it doesn't work in some apartment 

complexes, it doesn't work in the woods sometimes, as far as radios 

and even our cell phone. That would be nice.” (LE-U-005)

Functionality: Improved functionality

“I think it would be nice if the plate reader knew if you were in motion 

or not. So, for example, if I'm driving, I may get a hit on a suspended 
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plate. Well, I can't do anything on that car if it's parked. I can pull it 

over if it's moving, but I can't do anything on it. So then I have to sit 

there and acknowledge that, yes, this was a positive read or a 

misread, and it's a little cumbersome to actively be on the plate 

reader all day.” (LE-U-024)

Functionality: Reliability

“Probably, just for [technology] to work 100 %. I mean, there's no 

such thing as 100 % of the time, but just to try to maximize the 

percentage of times that it would work versus not work, and every 

aspect of it.” (LE-R-001)

Functionality: Faster devices

“Faster computers in our cars, more reliable for running stuff, tags, 

people, that kind of stuff. Anything that cuts down on the amount of 

time you have to be out with somebody or dealing with somebody 

that may be a threat.” (LE-S-037)

Functionality: Longer battery life

“So as all these new technologies come out, they're talking about 

Bluetooth speakers and microphones, well, something else you've 

got to remember to charge. If it's not charged, is it hot swappable? I 

think, as we look at new devices coming on potentially with the 

Broadband for Public Safety, that was a question. If we go to mission 

critical voice over LTE on a phone, do we get a hot swappable 

battery? Because I forgot to charge it that night or I've been on a shift 

longer than I thought, how is that going to be figured out?” (LE-R019)

User Interfaces: User friendly

“With everything across the board, if you don't make it simple, 

they're not going to do it. They're just going to move on to the-- or 

stay where they are, in the past.” (LE-S-021)

User Interfaces: Hands free

“Have a voice activated, ‘Hey, run this plate,’ where you don't have 

to even look at it. Whatever-- like Alexa, or Google, or like-- I mean, 

you would think that just having the-- telling the plate and it being 

run would probably save-- I mean, I know of supervisors and people 

that have gotten into car accidents because they're [looking down].”

(LE-U-024)

Tracking: Responder location

“In a foot chase, when you're chasing somebody. It would be really

nice if a dispatcher could just GPS and see where you're going... 

Instead of you worrying about calling it all out all the time. You've got 

to run, you've got all this stuff, and you're like, ‘I'm going left. I'm 

going right. I'm turning right. Southbound here and northbound 

here,’ and sometimes you don't even know what streets you're on. 

You're running. Could you imagine if you didn't have to do that, and 

you could have your hands free and just focus on chasing after this 

guy? And the dispatcher would be like, ‘All right, northbound, 

southbound.’ Because whatever direction the police officer's 

running, then that's the definite direction that the offender's going. 

So the police officer's almost like a trail, a marker, a trail marker, a 

GPS trail marker behind the offender. And if you could see that in an 

aerial view, you can dispatch and coordinate cars to come from the 

north, come from the east and west.” (LE-U-023)

Tracking: Search technology

“Last week, we had a robbery pattern where three guys were 

targeting Hispanic women, and they were using the same stolen 

vehicle, and we had to choose to get that plate run to find out if 

there's been a hit on it in the area. And it probably took 45 minutes 

before we were able to convince them to do it. And after they did, 
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the car was parked two blocks away from where it was seen like two 

nights before. So we'd sent a car and said, ‘Hey, why don't you guys 

just tour this area, do a grid search?’ And they found it in like two 

minutes, and they set up and watched it for hours, but nobody came 

back to it. So it'd be nice for something like that if we could just do a 

simple GPS, toss it on the car, and, hey, it's moving.” (LE-U-024)

Futuristic: Media/Science-fiction influenced

“A universal translator, like Star Trek. Put the damn thing in your ear, 

and it would just translate... So that would be-- if I could make 

anything happen, it would be that, universal translator so you could 

talk to everybody. It's something small, nothing big and gaudy. I don't 

want to get silly.” (LE-R-017)

Futuristic: Face and object recognition software

“I mean we can't we can't do facial recognition, and with all these 

cameras, you should be able to do facial recognition. It would be nice 

if the cameras, like, say, we see a car that went through this camera, 

if the computer connects, you say, “All right, it's a white car, it's 

whatever shape,” and look for it in all the cameras around it to see if 

it's passed.” (LE-U-024)

Futuristic: Self-driving vehicles

“A Google car driving us somewhere 80, 90 miles an hour. Yeah, 

that'd be great. I think that's fantastic. With the ability to take over 

when we need to because sometimes we need to violate traffic laws 

or drive over a median or a curb. That would be great.” (LE-U-005)

Futuristic: Augmented reality

“I envision a system where you are driving down the road and 

[unintelligible] patrol car and what you would have would 

automatically scan license plates and then almost kind of like a video 

game where you see [unintelligible] square floating above their head 

or something of that nature if you are in the car, how much gas you 

got, whatever. Also I wish like there could be some kind of heads-up 

virtual display like over that car, like it would scan it, you would be 

driving, showing like see-through letters, like driver suspended, no 

insurance, stolen plate, you know, vehicle not registered, warrants, 

you know and it would be different color coded.” (LE-S-062)

All-In-One: Cell phones and/or radios

“The other thing that would be really handy that I would love to see 

is some way to run an ID from a radio. So all of our ID’s have barcodes 

on them now. Some way to check that person over a radio, because 

right now I got to go back to my car in a rural agency— I mean 

sometimes we have to park at the end of the driveway because it’s 

locked and hoof it in. So we’re walking sometimes a quarter of a mile 

and we’re not near our vehicles. You know, and that’s very 

common— or we have injured people in the middle of the field riding 

a horse in back country or whatever, and we need GPS coordinates. 

Well crap I just left my GPS in the car. You know just having kind of a 

device or something that’s all in one that can do a lot of different 

things and communicate and be able to communicate. You know, 

having [interoperability], that’s really the key for me in my mind is 

being able to talk with whoever we need to talk with to get the 

resources that I need.” (LE-R-044)

All-In-One: General multifunctional devices

“We carry a lot of crap. And I think technology is fantastic, but finding 

one thing that does everything, I don't see that ever happening. You 

have some things that do something very well. And when you try to 

combine that stuff together, then you have one thing that does 

everything kind of half-assed. So I don't ever like that. We'd had a 

deputy chief here for a while that he didn't like the one-trick pony. 
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He didn't like our e-tickers because that's all it did. But our taser, 

that's all it does. And so I think if you try to combine everything, 

you're not going to get the best use of anything. So the more things I 

can put together, that actually are the same thing, I think you're 

better off. But trying to combine a lot of stuff that doesn't naturally 

go there, isn't going to work.” (LE-S-016)

All-In-One: Cameras

“Advancing in technology is great but to a limit. I don't know. I think 

all of the solutions, if you could incorporate it into one device, it 

would be awesome. The digital recorders, the cameras, all of it, even 

if it was your body camera that turned into a regular camera too. If 

it's all in one device, that would be fantastic.” (LE-S-021)

Vehicles: Windshield HUD

“Vehicles now, they have their odometers, pedometers on the glass 

on the dashboard. That would be something nice for the officers, 

because now your eyesight is not looking down towards the 

computer. Everything is visual on the screen, transparent to you, in 

front of you while you're driving. It's like what you see in the Sci-Fi 

movies. But it's not too far away, that technology, because of they 

can do this. But your speedometer, how fast you're going, is just a 

matter of time before you can integrate that information on the 

screen. So the officers in itself will be able to see everything on the 

screen. Touchscreen, everything that make it fast for time, have an 

earbud in there, so they can hear everything that's going on... Voice 

commands, ‘Can you repeat the address that I'm going to?’ And it'll 

show everything. Callback number, ‘Can you call for me to make sure 

that the victim is there or I'm at the right address?’ Or, ‘I need an 

interpreter.’ Stuff like that. So everything is hands free. So I meant, 

that would be just incredible if they did that, if they had that for the 

officers in the car. Just think about it, right? I don't have to press my 

mic. I'm just going to voice activate and start talking, and the 

computer's going to dial the numbers for you. You can have it all on 

the screen on your windshield. Everything.” (LE-U-012)

Vehicles: Built-in camera

“I really like our body-worn cameras in concept... something smaller, 

lighter-weight, less conspicuous would be nice. That said, I 

absolutely, absolutely love having video in the cars and body-worn 

cameras.” (LE-R-018)

Vehicles: Automatic license plate reader

“There is a device that reads plates automatically and looks for stolen 

cars. My understanding of it is that it is very expensive so very few 

places have it and the ones that do usually have it [disabled].” (LE-S064)

Vehicles: Dashboard computer

“The big Toughbook [in the vehicle], you've got the big console, 

everything in here. Why can't we just have a flat screen orsomething 

on the dash that you can touch or something like that? Because I was 

in a really bad crash on duty. And I got hit on my driver's side door. 

And you get stuck in there. And it's like a coffin because you've got 

one side and you can't get out. And it's just so big and bulky and then 

you have all your gear and everything else. So that would be nice to 

have something, maybe, more built in to make our car functional.”

(LE-U-007)

Mobile Apps: Discipline-specific apps

“We do e-tickets for warnings and tickets - you're going to have to be 

focused on this damn thing. It's about the size of the original Game 

Boy. Except with a keyboard. And I'm like, put it on an iPhone. Put it 

on a Samsung. I don't care what Android or iOS, Apple platform it's 
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on... But make it user-friendly. We all know how to work touch 

screens. We can all zip through that... put it on my phone, so it's an 

app. I hit my button, type in my ticket, walk up there, take their 

picture, hit send... it would be so much easier on the phone as 

opposed to an outdated and antiquated technology that's your user 

interface when everything else with the system is awesome.” (LE-R017)

Mobile Apps: Information references

“I'd love to be able to pull up somebody’s name, information, criminal 

history, warnings, and whatever on the phone. Pretty much anything 

you've seen in Minority Report or any of those, I'd love all that stuff.”

(LE-R-017)

Usable Security: SSO

“[New technology is] over-complicated... just make it simple... When 

you would get in the car, you only needed like one password to get 

onto the computer. Now, you need like 5. And they have to be all 

different, and it has to have a hashtag. It has to have this, a number. 

It has to have-- so me, I put them all on my phone, because I forget. 

I'm only almost 40, but I'm already forgetting things. But you have to 

know nine passwords to get on your technology.” (LE-U-013)

Microphones/Earpieces: Wireless

“I also like to be uncorded. I would prefer some Bluetooth 

microphone and that type of stuff as compared to cords and 

everything that get stretched all over the place.” (LE-S-016)

Microphones/Earpieces: Specialized earpieces

“The nice thing about this system that I use, I use a small earbud 

because I want to be able to hear not only this, but whoever's over 

here. There are specialized ones that you can get that are form-fit to 

your ear. They make it to where you can hear really well on the radio, 

but I can't hear anything on this side of my head. So I want to make 

sure that I can still hear so it can't completely shut off. It can't be like 

earmuffs are.” (LE-S-021)
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COMMS Technology Problems

Fig. 12. COMMS Technology Problems Categories and Subcategories
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911 Calls: NG 911

“I'm not going to have a 30-minute conversation over text whenever 

I could hear your voice and... and I can really hear are you okay. I can't 

tell that over here. I can't tell if you're crying or--that's my fear with 

the Next Generation 911 is are we going to lose that important piece 

of our communications with technology... But I'm hoping that the 

texting feature and the apps that we're using on smartphones and 

other devices that they don't take away that human communications 

during an emergency because 90% of all communication is nonverbal 

in nature. And hearing that voice, hearing the background noise of a 

particular call gives us so much more information than just the words 

that that caller is saying.” (COMMS-R-016)

911 Calls: Caller location

“Location information sometimes is difficult to get from a cell phone. 

And again, we have a lot of visitors here. And they never know where 

they're at... Have no clue.” (COMMS-R-002)

911 Calls: Nuisance calls

“We get a lot of 911 hang ups mostly off the mountain. Now with the 

smart watches doing 911 hang ups. They move their wrist. That’s a 

real pain. That’s worse than the pocket dials.” (COMMS-R-008)

Disruption of Operations: Continuity of operations

“There’s also some of the sheriff’s office over here and then in 

addition to that we also have ECC here as well and it’s convenient but 

also in terms of public safety critical infrastructure this is not perhaps 

the wisest setup because everything is one place and then... across 

the street actually literally right across the parking lot is our backup 

center... there is an issue of geodiversity in the sense that all of our 

critical infrastructure is in one spot.” (COMMS-U-006)

Disruption of Operations: Mobile operations

“If we have to leave this building and go out and get in that truck, or 

if I go to our [city ECC], our operational center, I'm going to be 

operating those cell phones. Now my CAD is set up, our CAD which 

we have that they don’t have, so we use Citrix, I don’t know if you 

know Citrix so anything that I need, and again this is because of the 

HIPAA rules and security of it, so we built a secure Citrix system, so 

when I go to Citrix on my laptop anywhere outside this building, I can 

get to everything I need to sitting in my office. Or I can dispatch calls. 

So we also like [town], is not tied into here, like we are. They're on 

Citrix, so [town] dispatches all their calls on Citrix, and it talks and it 

feed backs through. Because the Citrix server is sitting in [town] right 

here. Now if this building goes down and we lose complete power 

and I lose this room right now, we’re on cards; we’re back to the 

1970s.” (COMMS-R-020)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure: Implementation/Installation issues

“It's going to take two or three people to actually get on NextGen, to 

get on [inaudible]. It's really going to take three people to do this. It's 

going to take our phone vendor, it's going to take AT&T because they 

own [inaudible] and it's going to take the state comtech people to do 

that and it's going to take me and [colleague] to be on a conference 

call while they are doing this because they've got the engineers and 

everybody to do it and they are doing it basically live, which we've 

switched over and so forth. But me and [colleague] is going to be on 

phone. So, let’s look at our timeline here now. Seven hours. We are 

on conference call for seven hours and at the end of that seven hours, 

they couldn't make it work. Now when I say they -- it really doesn't 

matter who they are.” (COMMS-R-019)
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Implementation/IT Infrastructure: Public safety network reservations 

“When you start to look at the design, and you say, okay, well you 

know [a public safety network is] an independent system, but your 

core radio network is shared with the consumer. How's that going to 

work, right? It's going to be a challenge. So I think you'll see around 

here where you potentially have [a public safety network] as your 

primary device, then you'll have a backup cellular device with another 

provider, and you're right back to where you were before. It doesn't 

really make any sense. But Internet of Things, I think it's a good 

option. Pushing video over LTE, I think it's going to be a good option 

just because the backhaul bandwidth will be so much bigger. I am 

concerned about the plans that people have to use [a public safety

network] system for things like... pushing [state] LETS data over that 

system and just all those kinds of things, make you think twice. Just 

based on the way the project is being run. So that's it. My two cents.”

(COMMS-S-001)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure: Cost a prohibitor

“The whole team has access to [free GIS software], right? Makes it 

work well. And it interfaces with Google Maps and those kinds of 

apps... Contrast that with a single-seat license for [GIS software]. If I 

want it on my work station, it's like $9000... and that's not even the 

server license, right? That's just the work station to connect to the 

server... It’s probably a six-figure implementation for just a basic 

implementation.” (COMMS-S-001)

Implementation/IT Infrastructure: No user requirements 

collected/considered

“Some of it has. Some of it has been every bulky and then because 

they didn't get the input from the user. If they had gotten the input 

from the user they could have fixed this upfront.” (COMMS-R-016)

Technology Overrated: Problems with new technology

“We have a new CAD system that's slower than the one we had 

before. Well, everything about is-- it's weird. You think newer 

technology is going to be better... More user-friendly and it's just not-

- It's not the case. The phone is horrible. If someone calls you on the 

radio and you didn't catch what they said-- with our old system we 

could just go in and double click on the last radio transmission and 

play it back.” (COMMS-S-004)

Technology Overrated: Doesn't solve communication problems

“I think [NG 911 is] going to change things for the better in most cases 

but I'm really leery that it's going to change how we communicate. I 

mean we already see it in our society now with our social media. I 

mean anybody can say anything they want to about anybody on the 

phone that you would never have said to someone to their face.

And... just not... not real... real sure.” (COMMS-R-016)

Radio: Dead zones

“Those are people’s personal cell phones, yes. And-- but sometimes 

it’s just easier or sometimes it’s better, I’ll say, to use that because 

we actually get them and sometimes we can’t on the radio.”

(COMMS-R-009)

User Interfaces: Ineffective and inefficient

“We get a new system that is great on the technology side but it takes 

me 2 to 3 steps to what used to take me one... I used to just be able 

to type of command out into a line... I now have to start a command,

hit tab, find which section I want to go to-- so the location might be 

here, but to enter a license plate it’s down here, and to enter a color 

of a vehicle here, and it’s a makeup. It’s-- you end up using your 

mouse, and for me, having to remove my hands from a keyboard 
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when I don’t need to look away from-- I can look away from the 

keyboard and keep doing my job. It’s time consuming.” (COMMS-U007)

Technology Outdated: Outdated

“So in that time frame we have to deal with things we still have 

copper line connection to connection points so we still maintain 

those copper line points. We don’t use IP base yet for our phone 

system. We have old PBX systems. We have a lot of stuff that is kind 

of old and in order for me to get parts I’m usually pillaging from other 

jurisdictions as they update to get replacement parts for mine in case 

something breaks which really comes into play.” (COMMS-U-007)

Technology Outdated: Incomparable to personal technology

“So we have to manually enter [common places] information into our 

CAD system in order for us to be able to search it and then present 

our CAD system is not as dynamic as say Google right? If you type in 

Google some-- like let’s say, you say-- let’s say there’s a place called 

Sizzling Steakhouse whatever at [location] right? So if you tell me I’m 

at Sizzling Steakhouse at [location] or if you tell me I’m at Sizzling 

Steakhouse I can be like okay and then type in Sizzling Steakhouse 

and then in Google and then it’ll come up with did you mean Sizzling 

Steakhouse at [location] right? It will come up with a suggestion 

because it’s like okay you’re probably talking about this. Our system 

does not work that way... You have to enter it exactly as it is in the 

system.” (COMMS-U-006)

Reliability: Unreliable technology

“With something like CAD, if CAD goes down we can go manual right? 

We can pull out boards, we’ve got magnets, we’ve got cards, we can 

do what we need to do. If you lose your phones... You’re done. If you 

lose your radios you’re done so in those two you really need the 

reliability and that means going with those that are... versus CAD you 

know we can kind of try the waters and do different things but you 

want to make sure again that it’s the best of the best for the 

operations world but you don’t want technology to suffer either for 

it.” (COMMS-U-007)

Reliability: Redundancy 

“So our department just made the decision recently to give every 

person that's on patrol a cell phone from the agency. They're doing 

that for a couple reasons, one: they can't have the excuse of I didn't 

have the ability to make a phone call. But it's also a lifeline as well in 

that case, if you really need it. Our county is so big geography-wise 

that people can be out in places where there-- we have 95 % coverage 

from our radio system, which is significant. I mean, you don't really 

find radio systems that high. But the fringe areas that our county 

patrol works in are the 5 % that you don't really get it so you need to 

have an alternative way of communicating.” (COMMS-S-001)

Reliability: Unreliable transmissions

“Well with our sheriffs we don’t really have an issue except where 

maybe you know the radios don’t work and we do have those kinds 

of coverage issues but generally not a problem when you know I’m 

communicating something dispatch and something out to my sheriff 

officers but fire is a different channel and that’s not usually a 

problem. Only sometimes they’re not always listening to their radios 

and we can’t control that. Sometimes we don’t know that so but we 

communicate that out, we dispatch that out and then sometimes 

that’s out of our hands and same thing for EMS. We make that call, 

we dispatch them but we don’t always know until somebody 

communicates back to us that they’ve gone or not so it’s easy enough 

to communicate. I don’t always know that that communication has 

been successful.” (COMMS-R-009)
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Interoperability: External interoperability

“[RE: CAD interoperability between dispatch agencies] Linking those 

CAD systems up, in an appropriate manner, do I need to see 

everything that [city redacted] is doing right now? No, it's none of my 

business. But whenever something makes a difference here in us 

being able to respond and have that, then them sending that to us 

rather than them having to type all of this stuff in an email, send it in 

an email, that now we've got to type it into a CAD system, it's a lot of 

wasted effort. But having that data automatically transfer at the 

sender's request, not at the receiver's. I think that would probably be 

the number one thing I would look for.” (COMMS-R-016)

Interoperability: Internal interoperability

“Just like I wait three months for my iOS update to load. You want to 

wait until the kinks of those kind of things are kind of worked out a 

little bit and you know we will have interfaces built between them 

but it’s different when you have interfaces built between them and 

when you have one system that is just really integrated on its own. 

So there are places that the technology is going again those ideas are 

great in theory but the practicality of it in operations need to be 

tested a little bit more so that’s probably where the big gap is at the 

moment making sure they really kind of tie together and everybody 

gets the best of what we can find.” (COMMS-U-007)

Audio Clarity: Hard to hear

“I think right now, they're in the process of trying to upgrade our 

radio system and our towers because they are old. Yesterday one of 

the officers called me and he called four times and it sounded like he 

was whispering and I said, “You're totally unreadable.” Well, that's 

an officer safety issue, when you can't communicate with your 

officers and they can't communicate with you it's scary because--

sometimes we grab our cell phones, “Hey, are you okay? I've called 

you three times. I didn't hear anything.” I mean, all officers and 

dispatchers should have equipment that works.” (COMMS-R-005)
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COMMS Requested Functionality

Fig. 13. COMMS Requested Functionality Categories and Subcategories
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Tracking: Caller location

“So location information is very important. I would love to be able to 

see you know this is a pretty big wish but one day I would love to be 

able to see you know accurate you know x, y, z coordinates. I’m 

talking like z coordinates would be cool especially in this environment 

where we have a lot [of high rises]... If we get a 911 hang up from a 

cell phone... and it comes back to-- you know, we don’t know where 

you are but you’re calling and you’re just screaming and then I have 

to go trace your phone and I trace your phone. And they’re going to 

give me-- even if they can give me an address, [if] it’s an apartment 

complex, I don’t know where you are. We can’t have the officers go 

check every apartment. We just can’t do it right? So knowing kind of 

an approximate would be really cool. That would be awesome. 

Anything where we can better direct people to where you are.”

(COMMS-U-006)

Tracking: Responder location

“Wouldn't that be awesome if I could have that virtual screen [from 

Minority Report] as a dispatcher and I see a map of the county and I 

can zoom into the emergency, and I can just zoom in on it and see 

what their problem is, look out for the closest units and just touch 

them and throw them at the house and just go, you, you, you, you, 

go. And just have it happen. And then, the system will tell them 

everything... I don't have to type in all these commands, that whole 

fat finger syndrome, or that working 18-hour shifts and there's a 

major storm and the 18 hours turns into 48 and you're tired, so the 

human factor decreases and the computer-aided part, like garbage 

in/garbage out, perfection in/perfection out, that will raise it.”

(COMMS-S-003)

Functionality: Reliability

“Some things could be a little better. Like, if we had more monitors 

to monitor the campus, because I mean, we have these two. 

Sometimes the cameras don't work, and usually it's the ones that we 

need at the time.” (COMMS-U-018)

Functionality: Better coverage

“That would be amazing if we had--and not just out building 

coverage, not on the street coverage, I'm talking in the building... that 

type of thing.” (COMMS-R-016)

User Interfaces: Faster devices

“I'd like to see a little bit better of a computer sitting underneath the 

desk but I mean that's something we're looking into right now 

because every day that we add something or we add cameras to our 

security system it takes up more of the computer and they're getting 

to the point that they're a little... Faster processor is the problem 

there.” (COMMS-R-013)

Communications Center Technology: Improved dispatch interface

“What I want, I just applied for, is a-- it's a KVM software, and in took 

forever to find one that was affordable to the public sector. I had one 

guy come in and tell me it was $150,000 to get KVM. There's just no 

way... KVM is keyboard video monitor switches. I was always told that 

the switches entailed connected it but you actually had to turn a 

switch to whichever one you want to get on. But I was able to find a 

company that has them that it automatically--you configure your 

monitors when you're installing the software but it automatically can 

tell by the movement of your mouse which screen it's on and what 

system you're operating at that point. So you're not sitting here with-

-because people come in and they want you to run this or our radio 

runs off a separate computer than our network computer. Our 
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hardware, police cameras, run off a separate computer. Then the 

other 2 computers, 911 is its own computer. So we have some 

stations that has 4 keyboards and 4 mouses on them. And it is a 

hindrance to switch mouse and keyboard to figure out which one you 

need to be on. So we're looking at that right now because that in itself 

will help us do our job more efficiently and easier than switching 

stuff... That is the biggest one right now in our communication center.

All of my people, you know, want it, they asked me when are we

getting it.” (COMMS-R-013)

Communications Center Technology: Multimedia data packages

“Some of the things talking about videos and pictures with that -- and 

we know that that is coming but I don't think that should be 

something that is law delivered anywhere. You know, I don't care 

whether it's New York City or Boise, Idaho, and I think any of that 

technology should be something that the person sitting behind that 

console has the option to say -- yes, I want to see this or Ms 

Supervisor, I need you to view this. You know, I am just talking about 

the whole mental viewing that -- I don't think that that should 

something that when we answer 911, that there is something that 

pops up in front of somebody's face.” (COMMS-R-019)

Communications Center Technology: Access to caller cell camera

“At least allow the [caller], you know, for us to request just like if we 

are doing a WebEx or something like that. Can I have access to your 

camera? (COMMS-R-019)

Communications Center Technology: Large multi-view display

“More monitors to be able to pull up different things, especially if 

like, if we're in pursuit of somebody, we try to pull the cameras up to 

see where they're going, things like that. And it would be nice if we 

had more monitors in here to pull up more cameras to see where 

these subjects are going.” (COMMS-U-018)

Interoperability: Interagency communication system

“I would want the responders to not only be able to have a radio in 

their hand but for all of them to be able to operate on frequencies 

that they can communicate with each other on. We just we see it 

time and time again that the left hand-- they can literally almost be 

standing next to each other and they don’t know what the other is 

doing if it’s not fire and law. Sorry. And so that would be I think my 

top priority is that funding.” (COMMS-R-008)

Interoperability: Software/Hardware compatibility

“But one thing I will say is you can't do everything on a phone. I'm not 

going to write a report, right, on a phone. So you'll have to have 

different form factors. You'll have to have something that has a lot of 

screen real estate and that kind of stuff for certain job functions. 

That's not going to go away. But if I can provide an ecosystem of 

applications that makes a lot of the jobs simpler, that's really where I 

want this to go.” (COMMS-S-001)

Futuristic: Media/Science-fiction influenced

“The virtual reality stuff is kind of intriguing to me... I mean, they do 

it on NCIS, where they have one big screen, and that's got everything 

they need, and they just throw it around like that. I suppose that's 

probably possible now... But it seems it would be nice for us to be 

able to have a big curve TV instead of six monitors, and still be able 

to manage the four different computers and the information that our 

dispatchers need to do their jobs. Seems like maybe virtual reality 

would be the way to make me do that.” (COMMS-R-002)
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Real-Time Technology: Live video & images

“I do think [911 video] has to be live because you've got firemen that 

are going -- people are going to be screaming from a fire. So the 

responding fire trucks can actually see it in their car. Well, that needs 

to be live so they know exactly what they are facing. Like a police 

officer responding to a bank robbery. He is getting live pictures from 

there because it has got to be live but I have seen diagrams where 

the data comes in to -- doesn’t necessarily come into the 911.”

(COMMS-R-019)

Real-Time Technology: Language translation

“I would like something to where if you take the worst possible 

scenario, someone who doesn't speak English, who's having a panic 

attack about a major emergency and can't relay that. If we had that, 

I could see them, if there was some sort of magical technology that I 

could talk, it translates to their language, they could talk, it will 

translate to their language, so I see like a closed captioning exactly 

what they are saying, there's no communication breakdown, I can see 

what they're seeing so I could use my experience to plug in the holes 

of medical, traumatic, fire, whatever, and then I can tell them exactly 

what they need to know immediately and the communication is 

transparent, it's just there automatic, because of technology. Instead 

of having to delay and wait for all that.” (COMMS-S-003)

All-In-One: Cell phones and/or radios

“I think with [a public safety network] coming I would like to see the 

whole radio thing probably go out of the window and the cell phones 

to be able to be the radios and I know that that’s coming someday 

and those radios should be able to be protected on Band 14 [of a 

public safety network] system and they should be able to be 

affordable so that it’s in everybody’s hand and I think that that would 

be huge strides towards interoperability all together. I don’t know if 

it will ever happen but we’ll see. Kind of hard to get the LMR out of 

the picture.” (COMMS-R-008)

All-In-One: Cameras

“I never thought that they were able to put a body camera, which 

obviously a body camera and a camera could go together. But like a 

body camera/voice recorder, almost a tablet like, 'cause you could 

add photos and basically talk into the mic. And it would change it into 

words, and you just talk out your primary narrative, and your whole 

job is done from your hand.” (COMMS-R-012)

All-In-One: General multifunctional devices

“To me, it's bringing all your technologies and putting it into a form 

factor that's available. A single device, simple form factor. That's 

what everybody really needs. Can I do my regular job and can I do my 

incident stuff? Can I do it from the same platform without having to 

bring a ton of different stuff? Which makes it really difficult to do.”

(COMMS-S-001)

User Interfaces: User friendly

“Just ease of use [for] the end user. You know some of these systems 

come through and I’ve even seen it in other 911 centers where the 

technology is really supported and it’s a great system but when the 

person on the end tries to use it it’s useless and so just having that 

focus of what are you trying to accomplish? It’s great if you can get it 

going here but if you can’t use it it’s not worth it. And we run into 

that with our CAD system it’s somewhat outdated.” (COMMS-R-008)
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Physical Ergonomics: Fewer devices “People don't want to have to carry a work phone, a private phone, 

a NCIC capable secure device, you know what I mean? You just start 

adding them on and on and on... You're running out of pocket space. 

It's a waste of hardware... So, it starts adding on. So if we can reduce 

that number and... logins as well. That's the big one.” (COMMS-S-001)
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5. Summary of Results 

As public safety evolves to use advanced communication systems, research and development must be 

centered around first responders, how they use technology, and how technology can help them to achieve 

their goals. The technology first responders use to communicate must be effective, efficient, and provide 

user satisfaction [4]; communication technology must operate as expected without being a hinderance to 

their primary incident response tasks. 

Communication, as stated by the nearly 200 first responders interviewed across the United States, is 

critical for successful incident response. When technology is used for communication, it has a grave impact

on an incident: it can either improve or degrade the outcome of the event. Unfortunately, it is the latter 

that often occurs during incident response. This report presents the results of an analysis of the problems 

faced and the functionality requested by first responders in order to improve communication technology 

for use throughout the public safety domain. Across the fire, law enforcement, emergency medical 

services and communications center disciplines, three key components to effective communication 

technology became clear:

• Reliability

• Usability

• Interoperability

Volume 1 identified the top R&D opportunities and user-centered design guidelines, which include 

reliability, usability, and interoperability [1]. First responders feel that improving these aspects of 

communication will have a major impact on the use by and environments of first responders across the 

public safety domain. In addition to these cross-cutting findings, first responders in each discipline

expressed the need for real-time video and images as an incident unfolds to paint a better picture of the 

incident. Further examination of the data revealed the unique and most pressing problems and requested 

functionalities within each discipline.

The problems and functionality requests reported here cover a wide breadth of challenges faced by first 

responders. While some needs can be addressed by implementing existing technology, others may require 

more sophisticated R&D to yield useful solutions. The PSCR usability project has provided guidance on 

developing usable solutions to first responders’ needs [7]. In addition, the PSCR program is tackling some 

of the challenging areas identified in this report; many of the problems and functionality requests 

reported here reinforce the PSCR R&D focus areas [6].

Throughout this report, we presented approximately 300 quotes to demonstrate key concepts and unique 

problems and functionality requests. This report serves as a valuable resource for the PSCR R&D 

community as it provides a repository of first responders’ needs, problems they experience, and what 

they believe would be most beneficial in terms of communication technology. The tables & graphics 

included in the results section were specifically designed to provide visual references for easy 

comprehension of the large dataset. Having access to the research findings and methods of systematic 

data characterization from this project allows developers to have direct connection to the voices of first 

responders as they work to design, develop, and improve communication technology.
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5.1. Future Directions

As stated previously, this is not the final step in the PSCR usability project. Phase 1 investigated first 

responders, their environments, and their communication technology context of use, by conducting a 

series of rigorous, nationwide in-depth interviews with first responders in the fire, law enforcement, 

emergency medical services, and communications center disciplines. Phase 1, Volume 1 reported on initial

results and findings [1]; this report, Phase 1, Volume 2, provided a deeper analysis into first responders’ 

problems and functionality requested with their communication technology. Future volumes will present 

findings from other aspects of the qualitative data analysis, including further analysis of data from rural 

areas and communications centers.

The in-depth interviews resulted in over 20000 data extractions (quotes) from first responders. This report 

focused on the subset of approximately 300 quotes from those extractions, specifically the technology 

problems and requested functionality. The full dataset includes all of the extracted data associated with 

the code list in Appendix A. These extractions will be made publicly available via a web-based interface. 

The data will be searchable by type of discipline, geographic area (urban, suburban or rural), and 

participant demographics, among other attributes. The web-based tool will be available via the NIST PSCR 

website.

Finally, Phase 2 is the implementation of a nationwide quantitative survey of first responders and their 

communication technology use, providing an opportunity for statistical analysis of the data from a broader 

first responder population. The final report will combine the qualitive and quantitative perspectives to 

examine a holistic view of the public safety communication technology landscape based on Phase 1 and 

Phase 2 findings.

Acknowledgements 

NIST would like to thank the many first responders who graciously gave their time and input for this 

project.

References 

[1] Choong, Y, Dawkins, S., Furman, S., Greene, K.K., Spickard Prettyman, S., Theofanos, M.F. “Voices of 

First Responders – Identifying Public Safety Communication Problems: Findings from User-Centered 

Interviews. Phase 1, Volume 1.” NISTIR 8216 (2018). https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8216

[2] Choong, Y., Dawkins, S., Greene, K., and Theofanos, M. “Incident Scenarios Collection for Public 

Safety Communications Research: Framing the Context of Use,” NISTIR 8181 (2017).

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8181

[3] Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), https://www.fema.gov/risk-mapping-assessmentand-planning-risk-map (accessed Dec. 18, 2018).

[4] ISO 9241-210:2010: Ergonomics of human-system interaction -- Part 210: Human-centred design for 

interactive systems, ISO, Geneva, Switzerland, 2010, http://www.iso.org/
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[5] National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), “Firefighting occupations by women and race,”

https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-tools/ARCHIVED/Fire-statistics/Thefire-service/Administration/Firefighting-occupations-by-women-and-race (accessed Dec. 18, 2018)

[6] Public Safety Communications Research, “Research portfolios,”

https://www.nist.gov/ctl/pscr/research-portfolios (accessed Dec. 18, 2018).

[7] Theofanos, M., Choong, Y., Dawkins, S., Greene, K., Stanton, B., and Winpigler, R., “Usability 

Handbook for Public Safety Communications – Ensuring Successful Systems for First Responders,”

NIST Handbook 161, 2017, https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.HB.161

[8] United States Department of Justice, “Women in Law Enforcement,” in COPS – Community Policing 

Dispatch, 2013, https://cops.usdoj.gov/html/dispatch/07-2013/women_in_law_enforcement.asp

(accessed Dec. 18, 2018).
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Appendix A: Qualitative Analysis Code Books 

Code List for COMMS interviews 

Codes and Sub-codes Code Operationalization

Change This can be about technology, about policy/procedures, rules for behavior, laws, tasks; anything that refers to if/how things have shifted or not 

over the course of a participant’s career

Context of Work Tasks related to what is done as part of the job

Types of Calls Different reasons people call and how calls need to be routed

Multitasking

Stress/Health Wellness

Doing more than one task at the same time

Physical, cognitive, or emotional expressions of anxiety, tension, or feeling overwhelmed

Risk/Safety Situation involving exposure to danger; harm or loss

Relationships The sense of community developed amongst individuals or groups of people, a connection, association, or involvement, including relationships 

present within a discipline, between disciplines, or with the public

Emotion When participant expresses a feeling, other than frustration, based on reactions to events or experiences related to calls/work

Frustration An expression of annoyance, because of inability to change or achieve something

Information Data, evidence, or intelligence related to an incident or to work environment/situation

Control Entity who has the ability/responsibility to act or pass on information

Delivery mechanism Physical (paper, evidence, objects, or other artifacts) or Face to Face

Operational environment This can refer to the station, the department, the leadership, the city/state; anything that’s larger than just the user (we)

Problems Identification of issues identified by participants related to doing their jobs

Technology Issues with technology

People Issues with people

Information Issues with information (in getting, receiving, or producing information; situations where there was too little or too much information)

Policies/Procedures Issues with formal or informal rules and operating processes and procedures for how things should be, have been, or are being done

Rules/Politics Formal or informal guidelines that directly or indirectly govern the work, expectations, and/or environments of first responders

Budget/purchasing Considerations related to funding and/or procurement

Priority/Influence Related to priorities of the administration (e.g., station, local government) 

Policies/Procedures Formal rules and operating processes for how things operate

Unspoken rules for behavior Informal understandings of how things should be done (for example: radio discipline)

Technology Devices utilized by first responders to do their jobs or as part of their daily tasks

Reliance on technology Situations when responders don’t know what to do without the technology or when it’s not available (either when it breaks or is not appropriate 

to use)

Positives about/with technology Benefits and affirmative views of using technology

Training Initial and/or ongoing preparation and practice of job-relevant skills

User characteristics Participant related demographics, or identification of demographic pieces related to other work colleagues 

Pride Feelings of dignity about their work, work environment, and/or work organization

Job commitment/satisfaction Expressions of how participants love what they do or dedication to their work

Generation gap Real or perceived differences due to age

Knowledge/experience/skills Domain relevant understandings and abilities related to their work

Wish List Things (funding, information, processes, technology, devices, or equipment) that would facilitate first responders’ job.
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Code List for FF, LE, and EMS interviews 

Codes and Sub-codes Code Operationalization

Change This can be about technology, about policy/procedures, rules for behavior, laws, tasks; anything that refers to if/how things have shifted or not over 

the course of a participant’s career

Communication This refers to examples of when information is passed from one entity to another, or when a flow of information is needed but not necessarily 

there; For example, “I need to talk to my partner”; this is not a specific identification of information or technology

Context of Work Tasks related to what is done as part of the job

Stress/Overload Physical, cognitive, or emotional expressions of anxiety, tension, or feeling overwhelmed

Risk/Safety Situation involving exposure to danger; harm or loss

Relationships The sense of community developed among individuals or groups of people, a connection, association, or involvement, including relationships 

present within a discipline, between disciplines, or with the public

Frustration An expression of annoyance, because of inability to change or achieve something

Information Data, evidence, or intelligence related to an incident or to work environment/situation

Control Entity who has the ability/responsibility to act or pass on information

Delivery mechanism Physical (paper, evidence, objects, or other artifacts) or Face to Face

Operational environment This can refer to the station, the department, the leadership, the city/state; anything that’s larger than just the user (we)

Problems Identification of issues identified by participants related to doing their jobs

Technology Issues with technology

People Issues with people

Information Issues with information (in getting, receiving, or producing information; situations where there was too little or too much information)

Policies/Procedures Issues with formal or informal rules and operating processes and procedures for how things should be, have been, or are being done

Rules/Politics Formal or informal guidelines that directly or indirectly govern the work, expectations, and/or environments of first responders

Budget/purchasing Considerations related to funding and/or procurement

Priority/Influence Related to priorities of the administration (e.g., station, local government) 

Policies/Procedures Formal rules and operating processes for how things operate

Unspoken rules for behavior Informal understandings of how things should be done (for example: radio discipline)

Technology Devices utilized by first responders to do their jobs or as part of their daily tasks

Reliance on technology Situations when responders don’t know what to do without the technology or when it’s not available (either when it breaks or is not appropriate to 

use)

Positives about/with technology Benefits and affirmative views of using technology

Training Initial and/or ongoing preparation and practice of job-relevant skills

User characteristics Participant related demographics, or identification of demographic pieces related to other work colleagues 

Pride Feelings of dignity about their work, work environment, and/or work organization

Job commitment/satisfaction Expressions of how participants love what they do or dedication to their work

Generation gap Real or perceived differences due to age

Knowledge/experience/skills Discipline relevant understandings and abilities related to their work

Wish List Things (funding, information, processes, technology, devices, or equipment) that would facilitate first responders’ job.
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Appendix B: Revision History 

Revision Number Comment

8245 Initial version.

8245, Volume 2.1 Category name updated to “Public safety network reservations.”