Until the Public Is Served, Homeland Security Communications Scorecard Is Meaningless

The guy in the movie had it right: “Show me the money!”

Show me how the average citizen’s safety is actually being protected by emergency communications and first responders and then we’ll know how we’re doing.

According to a Honolulu Advertiser story today, Honolulu “is progressing toward closing communications gaps among emergency first responders….” The story then says the standard against which the agencies are judged is “to communicate with each other within one hour of a major disaster.”

One hour? One hour to communicate with each other?

CHORE takes no comfort in a situation in which responders are “progressing toward” a goal of talking to one another within an hour – not when a tsunami near the Big Island could devastate coastline communities across the state in a fraction of that time.

It’s terrific that first responders are moving toward – toward, but not at – this internal communications standard, but that’s not the issue, is it? Just weeks ago, these agencies failed miserably in communicating with the public during an emergency.

As today’s Honolulu Star-Bulletin editorial says, Hawaii’s first responders are far from meeting the goal of protecting public safety with their emergency communications.

The Elusive Public Meeting

It has been two months since State Civil Defense Vice-Director Ed Teixeira wrote to CHORE and said a Civil Defense public information officer “….will be contacting you for additional information and for a possible date we can meet with the public.” It has been nearly three weeks since Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, director of State Civil Defense, told CHORE the same thing.

We’ve received no such contact. And maybe that's a minor insight on the communications problem here.

The CHORE blog isn’t inside the government loop, where communications is "better." CHORE is on the outside, where it obviously isn’t.

Meeting Request Renewed

E-mail on January 4th to General Lee and Vice-Director Teixeira, with a copy to Lenny Klompus, the Governor’s senior communications adviser:

Gentlemen, as the CHORE blog notes today, it's been two months since Ed’s letter said I would be contacted by a public information officer about setting up a public meeting. Nearly three weeks have passed since Robert said the same thing in a phone call. It hasn't happened.

I therefore respectfully renew my request to discuss with you or your staff the creation of a public meeting at which State Civil Defense will give citizens an assessment of your lessons learned on and after October 15th and the changes that have been implemented to improve emergency communications and promote public safety.

Aloha and mahalo,

Doug Carlson
CHORE - Citizens Helping Officials Respond to Emergencies