📋 Tender Overview
Project : POL-004-19
Project Description : Effective communications is the most critical aspect of public safety. This consists of communications with the public, communications with patrol officers and WPS staff, and communications with other emergency services. Canada’s 911 system is a complex environment of land-based and wireless telephone services, network providers and emergency communications centres. These centres are known as Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP’s) and the Windsor Police Service operates the only primary PSAP in our region receiving all 9-1-1 calls for police, fire and ambulance for the City of Windsor and the Town of Amherstburg. Policing communications is in the midst of a significant and sustained period of transformation, which includes a legislated move to Next Generation 911 (NG911). In the NG911 environment, advanced modern technologies will be leveraged and implemented by service providers and emergency service agencies using a phased in approach. The NG911 environment, will begin with the public making a voice or text calls from any communications device via the Emergency Services Internet Protocol Network (ESInet). The next generation PSAP of the future will also receive photos, video calls, advanced location services, telematics and data from personal safety devices such as medic alert systems and sensors of various types as part of 911 calls. The framework for this transition began in 2002 when the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) mandated that the national 9-1-1 legacy system be decommissioned in March of 2025. This meant that all emergency communication centres across Canada were required to completely overhaul their 911 systems in advance of the deadline. On June 30, 2022 the Windsor Police Service reached a major milestone when the PSAP transitioned to an NG911 ready system. In early 2023, the service will connect to the ESInet and be fully compliant as an NG911 PSAP well in advance of the CRTC deadline. The Windsor Police Service continues to be a leader in innovation and as an early adopter of Next Generation 9-1-1, continues to provide industry leading service and excellence in service to the citizens of Windsor and the Town of Amherstburg. All municipalities operating PSAP’s are faced with funding the ongoing legislated advancements that will be continuously phased in with NG911, along with the support and lifecycle management of the NG911 assets already purchased. PSAP’s are transitioning to high tech operations centres, which is transforming the historic funding requirements for 911.
