Last week, Sheriff Jayson Richardson and Captain Phillip Daniels led a coalition of public safety representatives to Washington D.C. in an effort to secure funding for Next Generation 911. Next Generation 911 takes into account that more than 90% of emergency calls originate from cell phones and it capitalizes on all of the features offered by those devices. This allows for a more effective response to everyone, across the United States.

The national cost of this required conversion is nearly 15 billion dollars that Sheriff Richardson and his colleagues wish to fund from the sale of wireless spectrum to private industry. Sheriff Richardson was able to secure meetings with several Senators and Representatives and ultimately met with Speaker Mike Johnson to encourage the movement of the bill to the floor. The success of this cause will have the potential to benefit every 911 center across our nation, as well as every single person who experiences an emergency.

Included in the group were National Emergency Number Association CEO, Brian Fontes; NENA Vice President, Jonathan Gilad; NENA Southeastern Region Director, Cassie Lowery; Executive Director of Calcasieu Parish 911, Richard McGuire; Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office Captain, Jack Varnado; Association of Public Safety Communication Officials Director, Jeff Cohen; NENA and APCO combined are the largest representatives of 911 centers across the United States.