The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced on February 2, 2021 that the Integrated Justice Information Systems (IJIS) Institute will take charge of a new project to develop interoperability standards between the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems used by the nation’s public safety agencies.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, federal law enforcement officers have been faithfully serving the public throughout. As FEDS Protection has detailed previously, COVID-19 has increased pressures and expanded the already long list of challenges that federal law enforcement officers face on a daily basis.

Recently passed legislation, the Safeguarding America’s First Responders Act of 2020, would improve financial assistance to families of first responders and public safety officers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A press release announcing the passage of this new law reported that the International Association of Fire Chiefs estimated that more than 13,000 firefighters and other first responders have been exposed to COVID-19 while on the job and, according to the Fraternal Order of Police, 164 police officers have died in the line of duty due to COVID-19 as of July 27, 2020.