The Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury in California has been investigating the county's processes, technology, and impact of its emergency alerting systems. The Grand Jury found "inherent" limits in the automated telephone call-out system, but seemed equally concerned about internal communications prior to an emergency notification being issued.
The Jury said "many officials in the various emergency information organizations seemed reluctant to release information to the media and public because of 'verifiability' issues". In recent wildfires, the Jury said, verification "significantly slowed alert and follow-up information needed by the public - in some cases from 30 to 60 minutes". Time delays could lead to "disastrous results", the Grand Jury's report (found here) said.
The Grand Jury also said it found "an overly cautious culture when it came to communication among emergency agencies". Jurisdiction issues were commonly cited by officials the Grand Jury interviewed. The Grand Jury recommended that county and city officials require emergency agencies to pass emergency information to adjacent jurisdictions and the County Office of Emergency Services without delay.
The Grand Jury also found shortcomings in public education. Part of the problem, said the Jury, is that no single agency has responsibility of educating the public about what to do in the event of an emergency. So, the Jury said the County Office of Emergency Services should be placed in charge of emergency education development and distribution, and should receive funding for such.
This is more evidence that technology is not the answer to all alert and warning problems, but merely a piece of a bigger, sometimes complex, picture.
All the best,
Rick
Galain Solutions, Inc. is the nation's premier independent consulting firm aimed at helping public safety agencies evaluate, implement and integrate effective emergency notification solutions and programs. For more information, visit www.galainsolutions.com.
