Communication among agencies | 04.19.2006 | 07:29:36 | Views: 5315 | ID: April 19 '06: Government Computer News reported Tuesday that the General Services Administration will begin to test several "products for interoperability under Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 and Federal Information Processing Standard 201," which will help the Department of Homeland Security to strengthen communications abilities using cross-platform technologies. Under the Presidential Directive, greater security measures as well as an increase in governmental efficiency in identification of employees will help to "reduce identity fraud, and protect personal privacy by establishing a mandatory, Government-wide standard for secure and reliable forms of identification by the Federal Government to its employees and contractors." As well as security issues which arise from multi-agency coordination, communication among those agencies requires many of the same interoperable equipment. The security and efficiency of cross-governmental communication and preparedness is also an ongoing project in the Office of the Assistant Attorney General's Office of Justice Programs which is helping to fund the Office for Domestic Preparedness and State Domestic Preparedness Equipment Program to purchase "specialized equipment to help enhance the capabilities of State and local units of government to respond to acts of terrorism involving chemical and biological agents, as well as radiological, nuclear, and explosive devices." A pilot program run by the ODP installed several multi-frequency communications devices called ACU/TRP-1000 in "10 jurisdictions across the United States under a pilot grant project." On its website, the Department of Homeland Security said the ACU/TRP-1000's system "provides radio interoperability during incidents or events requiring communications between diverse organizations all using different radios and/or frequencies." "Effective and efficient emergency response requires coordination, communication and sharing information among numerous public safety agencies," the ODP website read. "Thousands of incidents that require mutual aid and coordinated response happen each day."
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