NCJ Number
230571
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 37 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2010 Pages: 8,10,12
Date Published
April 2010
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the features of the First Responder Technologies (R-Tech) program, one of the many mechanisms within the Federal Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), whose job is to ensure that technologies used by first responders do what is advertised.
Abstract
In its initial newsletter published in April 2008, R-Tech described its work "as an effort to connect first responders to technologies which will make their jobs easier, more efficient, and safer." R-Tech's rapid technology development program, called TechSolutions, works with a FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Administration) program called the Responder Knowledge Base (RKB) and another DHS S&T program called the System Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER) program in providing first responders the information and technology needed to do their job. Through its Web site (www.rkb.us) RKB provides emergency responders, purchasers, and planners with a trusted, integrated online source of information on products, standards, certification, grants, and other equipment-related information. The SAVER program further assists equipment purchasers by providing objective assessments and validations on commercial equipment and systems. Examples of first-responder products undergoing the research and development process include 3D situational/location technology, a vehicle-stopping device, a multiband radio, and a newly designed rebreather unit.