D.C.-area first responders need a clearer path on comms

The Department of Homeland Security Office of National Capital Region Coordination, which is in charge of coordinating local and federal security around the nation's Capital region, needs to improve how it manages interoperable radio communications among the area's emergency responders, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office.

The National Capital Region is a legally designated area that includes Washington, D.C., and nearby parts of Virginia and Maryland

As part of its work, ONCRC collaborates with the regional Emergency Preparedness Council to help state and local agencies access the DHS's Urban Area Security Initiative grant program.

In fiscal 2014, GAO said DHS allocated $53 million in grant funding to the NCR to enhance its homeland security and preparedness capabilities. Included in that grant was almost $7 million to fund activities, such as purchasing radios and other equipment, aimed at interoperable communications capabilities.

The GAO study found that the ONCRC doesn't have a formal mechanism in place to coordinate with federal agencies about interoperable communications. Between 2002 and 2104, it said, the ONCRC had used a group called the Joint Federal Committee as at its primary means of coordinating with federal agencies in the region. The study said the JFC hadn't been convened since 2014. ONCRC officials told GAO that the group planned on restructuring the JFC to improve its coordination capabilities.

The GAO said the JFC's charter did not specify the roles and responsibilities of participating agencies or how they were to work together across agency boundaries. Those specifications, it said, could go a long way in straightening out the difficulties.

"GAO recommends that ONCRC, as part of its efforts to restructure the JFC, clearly articulate in a written agreement the roles and responsibilities of participating agencies and specify how they are to work together across agency boundaries," said the report. NCRC concurred with the recommendation.