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APCO PROJECT - A NATIONAL TRAINING MANUAL AND PROCEDURAL GUIDE FOR POLICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO COMMUNICATIONS PERSONNEL

NCJ Number
44
Author(s)
ANON
Date Published
1967
Length
142 pages
Annotation
A BASIC GUIDE FOR ALL FORMS OF PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS.
Abstract
THE ORIGINAL PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO SERVICE WAS THE POLICE RADIO SERVICE. THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF THE ART SOON BROUGHT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ADDITIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES - FIRE, FORESTRY-CONSERVATION, SPECIAL EMERGENCY, HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE AND STATE GUARD. THE ORIGINAL POLICE COMMUNICATIONS SUPERVISORS SOON FOUND THE CITY FATHERS ADDING WIDER AND MORE DIVERSE COMMUNICATIONS RESPONSIBILITIES TO THEIR PRIMARY FUNCTIONS UNTIL THIS TREND WAS REVERSED BY INTEGRATION AND COORDINATION OF DEPARTMENTS BY MEANS OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT RADIO SERVICE. THE POLICE COMMUNICATIONS SUPERVISOR HAD THUS BECOME THE COMMUNICATIONS SUPERVISOR FOR VARIOUS FUNCTIONS AT MUNICIPAL, COUNTY AND STATE LEVELS, AND APCO, REFLECTING THIS CONSOLIDATING THOUGH FOUNDED IN 1935 AS A POLICE COMMUNICATIONS ORGANIZATION, BECAME THE ASSOCIATED PUBLIC-SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS OFFICERS, INCORPORATED. APCO HAS HISTORICALLY PUBLISHED COMMUNICATIONS OPERATING MANUALS AND MANY OF THOSE PROCEDURES, INCLUDING THE FAMOUS TEN SIGNALS, HAVE BECOME STANDARDS. HOWEVER, THE PRESENT EXPLOSIVE DEMANDS OF A MUSHROOMING POPULATION WITH THE ACCOMPANYING PROBLEMS CAUSED BY INCREASING NUMBERS OF HIGHWAYS, AUTOMOBILES, CRIMES AND RELATED NEEDS FOR PUBLIC SERVICES HAVE RESULTED IN A RAPIDLY EXPANDING PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO SERVICE. THIS MANUAL DOES NOT LIST ABSOLUTE AND MANDATORY RULES, NEITHER DOES IT NECESSARILY COVER EVERYTHING AN OPERATOR SHOULD KNOW. IT IS INTENDED RATHER AS A BASIC GUIDE FOR ALL FORMS OF PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE UNABLE TO PROVIDE TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR THEIR OWN OPERATORS. IT MAY BE USEFUL AS A SUPPLEMENT FOR THOSE AGENCIES WHO EMPLOY THEIR OWN MANUALS. THIS MANUAL IS SPECIFICALLY NOT AN ENGINEERING TEXT. IT IS CONCERNED ONLY WITH THE OPERATION OF A SYSTEM AFTER THE ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION HAS BEEN COMPLETED. THEREFORE, COMMUNICATIONS CIRCUITS, THEIR CAPABILITIES AND TECHNICAL METHODS, ARE NOT TREATED SINCE THESE DESIGNS ARE PREDICATED UPON LOCAL NEEDS, POLICIES, ORGANIZATION, ETC. NEITHER IS THIS MANUAL CONCERNED WITH FCC TECHNICAL MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.