As a comm center manager or director, have you considered what impact the use of the Internet has on your personnel and center? What’s its value, if any, and, if you allow Internet access, what policy considerations are there, and how do you hold people accountable?

On Dec. 8, APCO Institute Adjunct Instructor Mark Boudreaux addressed these issues during an APCO Institute webinar titled Internet & Social Networking Services in the PSAP. Throughout the presentation, Boudreaux addressed policies and procedures surrounding these fast-growing technologies, using policies implemented by his own agency, Terrebonne Parish (La.) Communications District, as examples.

Internet Access
Boudreaux began by addressing the pros and cons of Internet access in the operations room, including the concern that access alone poses a security risk. “It doesn’t have to be a security risk,” he said. “None of the connections that you have should be routed though your CAD or other agency systems. Establish a separate pipeline for access to the Internet in the comm center.”

For agencies that choose to allow access, he also recommended providing a computer for Internet access only or allowing telecommunicators to use personal laptops, which can be closed at anytime during a shift and pose less distraction.

He wasn’t advocating that all comm centers should provide Internet access, but rather for agencies to know their options. Telecommunicators working at large, busy comm centers many have too many responsibilities to be able to use the Internet as a tool while on duty. 

Boudreaux says, “If [your agency is] in the majority category, if your staff rides the busy-to-dormant rollercoaster with peak times and down times in each shift, then [telecommunicator] distraction [caused by the Internet] should be your concern and telecommunicator alertness should be your focus.”

Boudreaux also discussed how telecommunicators at his agency use Internet access as a tool to obtain real-time weather and news reports, and to look up slang and terminology. “It’s benefiting our telecommunicators and working supervisors,” he said. “We’ve seen an overall increase in the typing speed and spelling [of our telecommunicators].”

Other benefits to consider include access to online training and professional Web sites, such as APCO International, NENA, FEMA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Policy & Procedures
A few considerations highlighted during the session:

• Ensure you have the support and approval of your chain of command for whatever policy you choose to impose. Get authorization first.
• Consider all aspects of confidentiality first within a policy for a specific technology to avoid breaching confidentiality at any level.
• Write separate policies for every type of technology, including cell phones, text messaging, instant messaging, personal e-mails sent from the comm center, work-related e-mails, video and streaming video, gaming devices, digital book readers and social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
  • Clearly outline the purpose of the policy and the disciplinary process, leaving no room for interpretation.
  • Meet with supervisors who will be enforcing these policies before they go into affect.
  • Use progressive discipline for infractions. Clearly outline the disciplinary process for each infraction and multiple offenses. “Make it personal,” said Boudreaux. “If you are going to allow this access and go though creating policies and procedures, make it personal. Don’t punish the masses for the [actions of] one; punish the guilty.”
  • Document everything at every stage, and require mandatory information sharing among supervisory staff.
• If your agency is using social media for public outreach and tips, assign access to one individual (e.g., the public information officer). Post a follow-up message(s) if situation related to a tip is resolved. Make sure the individual tasked with maintaining the site and posting clearly identifies themselves on any posts to prevent fraud.

Social Media
Many agencies are already using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and similar sites to disseminate critical and non-critical information. Boudreaux addressed the other side: personal use of social media, blogs and other online platforms for agency/comm center staff.

To protect agency information, Boudreaux suggests addressing the use of social media in an agency’s code of conduct for how employees are expected to act off duty, as well as confidentiality — prohibiting the posting of confidential, propriety or third-party information.

“There will be instance you can’t control, regardless [employees] need to remember who they are and who they work for,” he says. “An agency is not just about what’s against the law. It’s about having a strong code of ethics — doing and promoting what’s right,” he says.

The social media policy at Terrebonne Parish Communications District is for all employees to submit their user names for every online platform they are using to the agency when hired. This allows the agency to monitor the sites. For Facebook, agency employees must “friend” the agency, granting it access to their personal pages. Only employees are friends of the agency. When supervisors log onto Facebook on duty, they can monitor who is posting and what has been posted.

Boudreaux did not address the agency’s policy for current employees who join a social media site. This is another aspect to consider when creating a policy for your agency.

Get more information about the APCO Institute.

About the Author
Natasha Yetman is associate editor for APCO’s Public Safety Communications magazine. Contact her via e-mail at [email protected].

Related Links

• “9-1-1 Friend Request: Social media’s role in public safety,” by Bob Smith, Public Safety Communications.