The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) First Responders Group (FRG) will engage with our law enforcement stakeholders in an ongoing pursuit of a better understanding of needs and requirements, and to develop innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges faced during day-to-day and large-scale emergencies.

FRG Director Dan Cotter will participate in committee meetings at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference: Private Sector Liaison and Homeland Security committee meetings. In addition to speaking about FRG’s initiative Countering Violent Extremism, Cotter will provide examples of FRG’s efforts to help law enforcement close capability gaps by identifying tech solutions and conducting test/experiments with stakeholders and industry partners.

Office for Interoperability and Compatibility Program Manager Cuong Luu will participate in the See No Evil: Examining Best Practices for Video Evidence Collection and Management panel at the International Chiefs of Police Conference. As law enforcement use of video expands exponentially, administrators find themselves confronted with an increasing challenge in managing video and data. This panel will examine necessary policy development to meet that challenge.

In addition, Responder Technologies (R-Tech) Program Manager Milt Nenneman will conduct demonstrations of the EDGE Virtual Training technology in the DHS S&T booth. 

• FRG partnered with the California Fire and Training Authority (CFRTA) to provide a point of distribution for the EDGE Virtual Training software, which is free to all first responder organizations. The CFRTA provides online web-based training on EDGE, or they can provide a downloadable compact disc version of EDGE to first responder organizations.
• Also being demonstrated in the S&T Booth will be the Next Generation Incident Command System (NICS) tool - a collaborative, online incident map with a virtual whiteboard that allows first responders to collaborate, pool resources, and plot strategies - and the Responder of the Future Box - prototypes resulting from visionary design work created for fire, police, and EMS. 
• We will also be joined by two of S&T’s Centers of Excellence: Purdue University’s visualization sciences (VACCINE) and the University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).

Come see us:  October 16-18, DHS S&T Booth #2614 – IACP Homeland Security Pavilion, San Diego Convention Center, 111 W. Harbor Dr., San Diego, CA.