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A new Pittsburgh police program will try to connect domestic violence victims with resources to reduce the risk of more violence, police leaders said on Friday. Beginning Monday, officers responding to intimate partner domestic violence calls will ask the victim 11 questions meant to gauge the potential for homicide or serious assaults in the future, Acting Chief Regina McDonald said at a news conference at headquarters in the North Side. Officers will use a department-provided cellphone to call the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh hot line to put the victim in touch with an advocate if they determine the victim is at a high risk of further trouble.

Car accidents and fires are obvious situations that may require a call to 911. For the most part, doing so does not increase risk for the caller. However, in cases of domestic abuse or abduction, calling 911 can put the victim in grave danger. In these situations, new technology that allows people to silently text to 911 can be life-saving. The National 911 Office is driving the planning and adoption of the text-to-911 service to make communicating with emergency services more dynamic. This begins the process of increasing accessibility and a push for public safety answering points (PSAP) to begin Next Generation 911 (NG911) implementation. Text-to-911 is an interim step between current systems used in PSAPs and NG911 implementation. While there is a national push to upgrade, it is a lengthy and expensive process that will initially limit the availability of the service.

The Barnstable Police Department recently received a $126,121 grant from the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to train and update training for 82 telecommunicators, including dispatchers, and 10 new police officers in emergency medical dispatch. Everyone currently assigned to the communications desk has had the training, Sweeney said.

Chicago police will receive specialized "state-of-the-art" training on how to handle domestic abuse calls under a new inter-governmental task force plan aimed at curbing domestic violence.

Already tasked with many responsibilities, firefighter duties are expanding in a few cities to include more medical care. Unlike tactical medical teams, where EMTs are given tactical skills to use on the scene, this medical attention occurs after an individual has been discharged from the hospital.

In today's world, firefighters do much more than quell blazes. They are frequently called upon to serve in emergency response situations ranging from active shooters to natural disasters. For these first responders to be prepared to meet the challenges faced in these scenarios, firefighter training throughout the U.S. must expand.

When wildfires strike, firefighters are called upon to tame massive blazes, often without the benefit of significant financial support. That could change if a recent proposal from President Barack Obama is approved. The potential budgetary plan would allow the U.S. Forest Service and Department of the Interior to access a FEMA disaster fund for aid when fighting the largest wildfires.

One of the basic technologies that enables what we often refer to as the Internet of Things is embedded Linux, a version of Linux that runs on machines that aren't computers in the traditional sense. A lot of the new "smart" devices joining Wi-Fi networks in the home and office are running some variant of it, as do a lot of those home-Wi-Fi routers themselves. Researchers at security-software company Symantec say they've found a worm that proves that, eventually, these devices may be ripe for attack. It's called Linux.Darlloz, and it appears to have been built to infect versions of Linux found in home routers, TV set-top boxes and security cameras, and also some industrial-control systems.

Last month, a group of retired senior-ranking officers argued before a packed audience at the Capitol Hill Club that despite the near certainty of shrinking military budgets, there are ways to trim the Defense Department's spending without leaving the armed forces less-than-ready for combat. Their plan, they contend, could reduce the overall size of the military while actually increasing its combat power. And in doing so, it will support Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's call to revamp the military so that it remains sufficiently strong "under a cloud of budget restraints and uncertainty."

TSA has issued a solicitation for what it calls "Credential Authentication Technology," or CAT, which can ensure that only legitimate airport personnel, airline crews, non-traveling passengers using a gate pass, law enforcement officers and Federal Air Marshals can gain access to sterile airport areas.

The switch was thrown quietly in May 2012, hidden inside a 16-page directive, "Gang Violence Reduction Strategy," and largely ignored amid a 60 percent rise in murders in the first quarter alone. With less than a year on the job, McCarthy had already disbanded two special task forces, roving teams that muscled neighborhoods into submission. Now he was betting on what he calls "the next phase of community policing in this world": an emphasis not on the traditional "hot spots" for crime, but on the "hot people" who commit most criminal acts.

Each year, public safety professionals learn more about the complexities of firefighting. Technology has advanced with that knowledge, allowing first responders to capture critical data and use it to inform future calls. Faced with budgetary and personnel shortages that hamper management of that data, however, fire departments stand to benefit from adoption of cloud-based solutions. Taking on the burden of hardware and software maintenance, Software as a Service (SaaS) greatly mitigates the technical overhead for a firehouse. Cloud computing improves performance, increases access to important information, and lowers the total cost of ownership for software. For fire departments, that efficiency translates into more effective emergency response.

If State Police troopers want to do anything in their career, it's save a life. So when staff at Tufts Medical made the desperate call for troopers to escort Ryan Brooker's car into Boston, that his future depended on it, this became a story about State Police service, about doctors and nurses, and about a young man thankful to simply live his life again.

Emergency medical technicians perform one of the most critical jobs, but they also face a high degree of risk. In addition to the physical and health dangers that accompany each call, EMTs can easily find themselves in the center of legal disputes. Alarmingly, cases against them are often based on verbal accusations alone. To ensure that EMTs can remain legally defensible, certain services are now requiring their employees to wear body cameras. These cameras can document interactions with the public and provide a tangible record to be used in court, if necessary. As with every new technology, however, video cameras present challenges when integrating into an EMT's daily routine.

When you dial 911, you expect to be connected with someone who is able to provide emergency services to you in your time of need. But what do you really know about who is answering that emergency line? Telecommunicators are often thought of as the "first, first responder." They collect sufficient information from calls in order to get the proper response to the emergency at hand. One might presume there is a great deal of training and education that precedes procuring a job as a telecommunicator. While that may be true, a standard level of training is rarely required for employment.

In an emergency situation, the location of fire stations plays a large role in how quickly first responders can reach a scene. For victims, however, this distance determines how much delay must be endured before receiving care. The city of San Diego is exploring a way to reduce the distance first responders have to travel to reach victims.