-------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
REPORTNUM: T-AIMD-99-163
TITLE: Year 2000 Computing Challenge: Status of Emergency
and State and Local Law Enforcement Systems Is Still Unknown
DATE: 04/29/1999
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United States General Accounting Office GAO
Testimony Before the Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology
Problem, U.S. Senate For Release on Delivery Expected at
YEAR 2000 COMPUTING 9:30 a.m. Thursday, CHALLENGE
April 29, 1999 Status of Emergency and State and Local Law
Enforcement Systems Is Still Unknown Statement of Jack L. Brock,
Jr. Director, Governmentwide and Defense Information Systems
Accounting and Information Management Division GAO/T-AIMD-99-163
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: Thank you for inviting
me to discuss the impact of the Year 2000 computing challenge on
the nation's emergency and state and local law enforcement systems
and our review of the Department of Justice's and the President's
Council on Year 2000 Conversion's efforts to facilitate
remediation and contingency planning and to gauge the Year 2000
readiness of these two important sectors. Briefly, we found the
following. * Limited information is available about the Year 2000
status of 9-1-1 call answering sites throughout the nation, known
as Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP). The Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) in conjunction with the National
Emergency Number Association1 has surveyed 4,300 primary PSAPs on
their Year 2000 readiness; however, as of April 1999, only 18
percent responded. Of those that did respond, only 16 percent
reported that their systems were compliant. However, the majority
of the rest of the respondents reported that they will be
compliant by 2000. * Little is known about the status of state and
local law enforcement agencies. No assessment surveys have been
conducted. Last week, the Chairman of the working group focusing
on law enforcement for the President's Council on Year 2000
Conversion informed us that such an assessment would soon be
initiated in cooperation with a follow-on FEMA assessment of
emergency services. * Outreach efforts by FEMA, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), the National Emergency Number
Association, and other organizations have been fairly extensive,
ranging from the development of contingency planning guidance to
the hosting of forums for the 9-1-1 community on meeting the Year
2000 challenge. * Outreach efforts by Justice generally have been
targeted at raising awareness and, with the exception of those at
the Bureau of Prisons, largely ad hoc in nature. To prepare for
this testimony, we reviewed the FCC's March 1999 report on Year
2000 readiness in the communications sector, transcripts of the
FCC's emergency services forum held in November 1998, and the
April 1999 This is a trade association seeking to foster the
technological advancement, availability, and implementation of a
common emergency telephone number system. Page 1
GAO/T-AIMD-99-163 Network Reliability and Interoperability Council
(NRIC) 2 report on Public Safety Answering Positions. We reviewed
test documentation prepared by Bellcore and the Telco Year 2000
Forum to assess the scope of Year 2000 interoperability testing
conducted on both the local public network in general, and on the
continued ability of this network to successfully process 9-1-1
calls for emergency services. Further, we reviewed information
published on the Internet by manufacturers of computer systems
supporting 9-1-1 sites as well as by FCC, NRIC, FEMA, the
President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, the National
Emergency Number Association, the International Association of
Emergency Managers, the National Emergency Management Association,
the National Association of Counties, the National Public Safety
Telecommunications Council, the State of Minnesota, and the State
of Texas. We also toured 9-1-1 sites located in Arlington County
and Fairfax County, Virginia, and we interviewed members of the
Telco Year 2000 Forum and staff at both FEMA's U.S. Fire
Administration and the National Emergency Number Association. We
also reviewed available outreach strategies and plans for the
Department of Justice and its component bureaus and documentation
on actual outreach activities that they have conducted. We
discussed with department and bureau officials their respective
approaches to managing outreach activities, including outreach
goals. Additionally, we attended meetings of the Police/Law
Enforcement/Criminal Justice working group, reviewed documents
prepared by the working group, and conducted interviews with the
Chairman of the group. We performed our work in March and April
1999 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Federal Efforts to For the most part,
responsibility for ensuring continuity of service for 9-1-1 Assess
Continuity of calls and law enforcement resides with
thousands of state and local jurisdictions. Nevertheless, the
success of these efforts is of great interest 9-1-1 and
State/Local at the national level as these services are
critical to the safety and well- Law Enforcement being
of individuals across the country. Thus, the lack of status
Services information has increased concern about
which, if any, critical emergency communications and law
enforcement systems may not be compliant in time. NRIC is a
federal advisory committee that provides guidance to FCC on
promoting the reliability of the public switched network. Page 2
GAO/T-AIMD-99-163 The President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion
was established in part to help provide leadership and work with
state and local governments to address the Year 2000 computing
challenge. Last April, we recommended that the Chairman of the
Council develop a comprehensive picture of the nation's Year 2000
readiness, which would include identifying and assessing the Year
2000 risks within the nation's key economic sectors, including
those posed by the failure of critical infrastructure components.
3 By gathering basic information on Year 2000 status and impact on
public well- being, the Council would be better prepared to advise
any necessary action to mitigate risks. In October 1998, the
Council tasked each of its working groups to complete sector
assessments. These assessments were to be based on an assessment
guide developed with input from GAO and were to be conducted in
conjunction with related umbrella groups and trade associations.
The Council's Emergency Services working group, which is chaired
by FEMA, was responsible for conducting the assessment of
emergency services, including 9-1-1 services. Because of the
reliance of 9-1-1 services on the public switched network, this
particular assessment was also dependent on results of the
assessment conducted by the Telecommunications working group,
chaired by FCC. The Council's Police/Public Safety/Law
Enforcement/Criminal Justice working group, chaired by the
Department of Justice, was responsible for conducting the
assessment of state and local law enforcement agencies. The first
report summarizing the results of the Council's assessments was
issued on January 7, 1999. The Council's second assessment report
was issued on April 21, 1999. After the first report was issued,
we testified 4 that while the study was a good step toward
obtaining a picture of the nation's Year 2000 readiness, the
picture remained substantially incomplete because assessments were
not available in many key areas, including 9-1-1 and fire
services. Also, some surveys did not have a high response rate,
calling into question whether they accurately portrayed the
readiness of the sector. We stated that the Council needed to
remain vigilant and closely monitor and update the information in
the sectors where information is available and obtain information
for those where it was not. !Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Potential
for Widespread Disruption Calls for Strong Leadership and
Partnerships (GAO/AIMD-98-85, April 30, 1998). "Year 2000
Computing Crisis: Readiness Improving, But Much Work Remains to
Avoid Major Disruptions (GAO/T-AIMD-99-50, January 20, 1999). Page
3
GAO/T-AIMD-99-163 9-1-1 Services 9-1-1 is the
standard telephone number most Americans dial to quickly Year 2000
Readiness obtain assistance from police, fire, or
emergency medical service providers. When dialing 9-1-1, callers
depend on the country's telecommunications infrastructure, a high
degree of automation, and emergency dispatchers to ensure that
emergency personnel can be reached when needed. If Year 2000
issues are not adequately addressed, the response to an emergency
could be degraded. Fortunately, a number of positive outreach
efforts have been undertaken to assist local governments as well
as telecommunications providers in preparing for the Year 2000.
Unfortunately, with less than 9 months remaining before the
millennium, the status of thousands of 9-1-1 answering sites is
still largely unknown. 9-1-1 and the Year 2000 According to
the FCC, about 90 percent of the population has access to Problem
9-1-1 service and uses it to place most of the nearly 110 million
emergency calls made in the United States each year. The remainder
of the population, without access to 9-1-1 service, dials an
ordinary seven-digit telephone number to contact emergency service
providers. The National Emergency Number Association estimates
that there are approximately 4,400 primary PSAPs operating
nationwide. These PSAPs, in turn, may have one or more associated
secondary PSAPs. For example, the city of Falls Church, Virginia,
operates a PSAP that is secondary to Arlington County's primary
PSAP. 9-1-1 calls originating in Falls Church would be delivered
to the primary PSAP in Arlington County. Following initial
processing, that call would be forwarded for dispatch to the
secondary PSAP operated by Falls Church. The 9-1-1 system is a
multistep process that can vary from one PSAP to the next.
However, 9-1-1 calls are initiated over the public switched
network and most calls are made using "enhanced" 9-1-1 service--
that is, service that uses automation to provide dispatchers with
the address and telephone number associated with the caller. The
following figure depicts a typical 9-1-1 call. Page 4
GAO/T-AIMD-99-163 Figure 1: Enhanced 9-1-1 Calling Process E911
Tandem Switch at telephone office Public Safety Answering Points
PSAP Common Equipment PBX Voice System
Call Phone Phone Number
Number Controller Display Telephone Company
Call Taker Location Database
Address Address Controller
Display Source: Network Reliability and Interoperability Council.
As the figure illustrates, the telecommunications component of the
9-1-1 system includes the public switched network, the local
telephone office, and one or more PSAPs. A computer system at the
local telephone office-- called the E911 tandem switch--
automatically routes incoming calls to the proper PSAP. At the
PSAP, the call is recorded and information, such as the caller's
location and directions on how to get there, is retrieved from a
Page 5
GAO/T-AIMD-99-163 database normally provided by a local telephone
company called the automatic location identification (ALI)
database. Other equipment common to PSAPs are telephones,
answering equipment, and personal computers. The systems used by
PSAPs and supporting telecommunications networks have processes
such as day/time logging, call recording, computer aided dispatch,
and records management systems that could be disabled by a Year
2000 failure. Should Year 2000 disruptions impair either these
date- sensitive components of PSAP call-handling or other
communications and database services provided by the public
network, the following could occur. * If the automatic number
identification (ANI) database computers fail, 9-1-1 calls would
not be selectively routed to a PSAP for processing, unless a
default was established to route any call without ANI data to a
specific PSAP. Depending on the service area, the loss of a 9-1-1
tandem switch could affect more than one million access lines. *
Also, if the automatic location identification database computers
fail, the 9-1-1 attendant would get a voice path but not receive
location data from the ALI database. The operator would then have
to get location data from the 9-1-1 caller (which is routinely
done with calls originating on wireless telephones) who may be
confused or anxious. * If the automatic call distributor fails,
incoming calls would not automatically be delivered to available
call takers. * If a computer telephony integrated system (where
the telephone has been totally replaced by computer) fails, the 9-
1-1 attendant would lose all functionality and no calls would be
received. Another Year 2000-related problem is potential
congestion in the public switched network arising from individuals
making 9-1-1 calls to simply test the system. According to the
Network Reliability and Interoperability Council, an increase in
9-1-1 traffic could result in callers getting circuit busy
signals, put on hold for long periods, or disconnected. Limited
Information Is Successfully completing a 9-1-1 call next
January 1--and taking full Available Concerning the advantage
of all the features of enhanced 9-1-1 service--is dependent on two
Status of Year 2000 major factors. First, the ability of
the public switched telecommunications Readiness for 9-1-1
network to transmit the call and, second, the ability of the PSAP
to process the call. Page 6
GAO/T-AIMD-99-163 With respect to the public switched network, the
Telco Year 2000 Forum on Intra-Network Interoperability Testing,
which is made up of local exchange carriers representing 90
percent of all access lines in the nation, recently conducted
tests to determine whether the public switched network could carry
calls in a Year 2000 environment. The tests were performed on 54
different configurations of central office equipment that included
a majority of the network components used in North America. Only
six Year 2000 problems were identified by the Telco Year 2000
Forum in over 1,900 test cases on these configurations, which
involved 80 products from 20 different vendors. Assuming these
tests were carried out effectively, their results provide some
confidence that, if remediated, the public switched network should
continue to function into the new millenium with no major service
interruptions caused by Year 2000 dates. However, these tests did
not focus specifically on 9-1-1 services and, as such, they did
not test numerous "back end" systems that a PSAP might use, such
as computer- aided dispatch systems, call logging systems, call
recorders, and radios. PSAP operators are responsible for ensuring
that these systems operate and interoperate properly after the
date change. The status of the ability of PSAP efforts to ensure
that they can effectively process 9-1-1 calls is less clear. The
Network Reliability and Interoperability Council (NRIC) reports
that major local telephone companies have taken action to ensure
that PSAP systems they provide to their customers have been
remediated. However, as of April 16, 1999, only 18 percent of
4,300 PSAPs had responded to a readiness survey conducted by FEMA
and the National Emergency Number Association. Of the 766 sites
that did respond, only 16 percent reported that they were ready
for the Year 2000. Another 70 percent of those responding reported
that they will be Year 2000 compliant in time for the millennium.
Because of the low response rate, FEMA is planning to conduct
telephone interviews with those sites that did not respond to the
initial survey. NRIC developed its own assessment of PSAP Year
2000 readiness. NRIC estimated that at present, fewer than 10
percent of the nation's PSAPs have completed upgrades of the 9-1-1
call processing equipment. However, according to NRIC, many
upgrades have been scheduled and should be completed within the
second and third quarters of this year. NRIC's evaluation did not
address the Year 2000 readiness of any of the other equipment
employed within the PSAPs that support call processing or
personnel dispatch. The proper functioning of that equipment is
the responsibility of PSAP managers. Page 7
GAO/T-AIMD-99-163 Positive Outreach Efforts to To help ensure
that emergency services will be accessible after the century
Ensure 9-1-1 Year 2000 date change, many
organizations are engaged in outreach activities to state
Readiness Are Underway and local governments and even
the telecommunications providers that support networks critical to
9-1-1 calls. For example: * In December 1998, FEMA included an
informational Year 2000 brochure with a survey that was sent to
primary answering points. It also developed Year 2000 contingency
and consequence management planning guidance that specifically
identifies 9-1-1 systems as being at risk because of the Year 2000
problem. This guidance was made available to state and local
government emergency managers through a series of Year 2000
workshops held throughout the country. The guidance was also
presented in a multistate teleconference of state Year 2000
coordinators. * The National Emergency Number Association is
working to modify its technical standards, which cover a number of
issues related to 9-1-1, to include Year 2000 compliance
statements. The association is also advising its approximately
6,000 members to check their mission-critical computers and
equipment for Year 2000 readiness. * The National Association of
Counties has been working with the National League of Cities, the
International City/County Management Association, and Public
Technology, Inc., to address the Year 2000 challenge and its
potential to affect services provided by local governments.
Together, these organizations have developed and distributed over
20,000 copies of a Year 2000 information kit and have sponsored a
nationwide Year 2000 satellite broadcast for local government
officials and employees. * On November 16, FCC hosted a forum--
attended by federal, state, and county government officials,
telecommunications providers, and equipment manufacturers--on
maintaining emergency response communications and potential Year
2000 issues. Topics discussed included potential Year 2000 threats
to the system, strategies for averting those threats, and the need
to convey the importance of the Year 2000 challenge to other
emergency response organizations. * The Association of Public-
Safety Communications Officials International Inc., is planning to
hold a Year 2000 symposium on May 20 and May 21 aimed at agency
and company preparedness planning. Speakers will include officials
from FCC, the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, and
other federal government agencies, major utility companies, public
safety communications center directors, volunteer associations,
and communications manufacturers and consultants. Page 8
GAO/T-AIMD-99-163 State and Local Law Over 17,000
state and local law enforcement entities provide services to
Enforcement Year 2000 protect the American public. These entities
vary greatly in terms of specific services provided, geographic
coverage, and use of computer and Readiness
communication tools. Management information systems, computer-
aided dispatch systems, and radio communications are typically
used throughout the law enforcement community. All need to be
thoroughly checked to determine their Year 2000 vulnerability and
then fixed, if necessary. Little Is Known About Year The working
group for Police/Public Safety/Law Enforcement/Criminal 2000
Status for State and Justice has not done an assessment of
state and local law enforcement Local Law Enforcement
agencies. Rather, its focus has been on increasing awareness
through Entities speeches, participation
in conferences, and other similar activities. In the President's
Conversion Council's first report this past January, the working
group reported: "Based on informal assessment information, there
is a high level of awareness of the problem among non-Federal
police/law enforcement entities. State police/law enforcement
entities and departments in larger metropolitan areas are making
good progress. However, most departments at the county and
municipality level lack the sophistication to assess the Y2K
readiness of their service providers. These departments do not
have their own, dedicated IT resources--money and professional
staffing--and are instead dependent on the IT departments of the
county, city, or municipality of which they are a part. Dedicated
radio communications and dispatch systems are a concern for all
police/law enforcement organizations and the working group is
encouraging departments to focus on contingency planning in this
area."5 The working group made no report in the second national
assessment summary issued earlier this month. Late last week,
following our inquiries, the working group decided to develop an
assessment of state/local law enforcement entities in conjunction
with FEMA's efforts to develop more information on emergency
services. The working group plans to conduct the survey by
telephone to increase the response rate and to complete the survey
by the time of the next sector summary report, which is expected
in July. #The President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion: First
Quarterly Summary of Assessment Information (January 7, 1999).
Page 9
GAO/T-AIMD-99-163 Justice Outreach Efforts Are According to the
Justice Chief Information Officer (CIO), the three Limited
department components with primary responsibility for outreach to
state and local agencies are the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Bureau of
Prisons (BOP). With the exception of BOP, neither the department
nor its component bureaus have formal outreach programs with
stated goals and defined strategies for actively reaching out to
counterparts in state and local and international governments. In
lieu of formal programs, the department and its bureaus are
conducting largely ad hoc activities aimed at increasing Year 2000
awareness. Bureau of Prisons In January, we
recommended that the Bureau of Prisons proactively identify
organizations needing assistance and share their experiences and
lessons learned in remediating and preparing for Year 2000
problems. 6 The bureau agreed and has established a proactive
outreach program. For example: * BOP established a formal outreach
program with stated goals and defined strategies for reaching out
to its counterparts in the state and local correctional community.
BOP's plan called for this work to be conducted through
professional associations, with the aim of delivering relevant
information to corrections officials and providing direct
assistance where needed. In addition, BOP plans to evaluate the
effectiveness of its outreach activities, for example, by
monitoring access to the BOP and National Institute of Corrections
(NIC) Internet sites to assess the effectiveness of this mechanism
in reaching its targeted audience. * On March 1, 1999, BOP sent a
letter to all members of NIC informing corrections officials about
possible Year 2000 problems beyond those related to computer
software and hardware. It mentioned such matters as embedded
microchips in equipment like metal detectors, X-ray machines, and
elevators, and encouraged officials to look into the compliance of
such equipment. The letter informed recipients about the BOP and
NIC Internet sites and provided the addresses to reach them. It
also provided phone numbers to call if the recipients needed
further assistance. BOP plans two more follow-up mailings
throughout the year $Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Status of Bureau
of Prisons' Year 2000 Efforts (GAO/AIMD-99-23, January 27, 1999).
Page 10
GAO/T-AIMD-99-163 that will provide updated information, as
appropriate, to state and local correction officials. * Also, BOP
plans to make a limited number of follow-up phone calls to
recipients of the letter. The calls will be used to assess the
usefulness of the initial mailing and, depending on the findings,
to modify future mailings to better meet needs of the state and
local facilities. Second, the calls will determine whether state
and local facilities need assistance in their remediation. BOP
officials admit that they have limited ability to provide direct
assistance, but they believe they can share lessons learned during
the course of their own remediation work. Other Justice Outreach
Efforts The following are descriptions of other outreach
efforts being carried out by the Department of Justice. * On
December 11, 1998, the CIO chaired a Year 2000 outreach session
with the Government Advisory Group for the Global Criminal Justice
Information Network. Members of the Advisory Group include the
American Correctional Association, the International Association
of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs Association, and the
National Association of Attorney Generals, among others. The FBI
made three presentations at the outreach session concerning the
compliance of its key systems and forensic laboratories. * On
January 25, 1999, the Attorney General sent a letter to the
presidents of seven law enforcement/criminal justice associations
intended for publication in association newsletters. The letter
discussed potential Year 2000 problems associated with law
enforcement and the formation of the President's Council on Year
2000 Conversion. It also provided the address of the Council's
Internet site and encouraged state and local law enforcement
agencies to take a hard look at their buildings, computers, and
other devices that could be susceptible to the Year 2000 problem.
* The FBI has engaged in a number of activities to educate state
and local law enforcement officials about the status of the FBI's
mission-critical systems. FBI officials have spoken at law
enforcement conferences about their Year 2000 program primarily to
discuss the status of key systems, such as the National Crime
Information Center system, and to provide assurance that these
systems will be unaffected by Year 2000 problems. The FBI has also
recently published an article in several law enforcement
publications7 discussing the experiences the FBI had with %Law
Enforcement News, September 30, 1998; Law Enforcement Technology,
August 1998; and The Police Chief , March 1999. Page 11
GAO/T-AIMD-99-163 its system remediation and encouraging state and
local law enforcement groups to institute their own Year 2000
programs. The FBI is also using the Criminal Justice Information
System Advisory Board, run by state representatives, to
communicate Year 2000 information to state and local users of FBI
systems. * The Office of Justice Programs is working to build
awareness through two forums. First, in July 1998, it distributed
a notice to all grant recipients that all new equipment purchased
with grant money is required to be Year 2000 compliant. The notice
provided an Internet address and a phone number where recipients
could obtain Year 2000 information. Second, at regional financial
management training seminars held throughout the country, the
office has been working to build Year 2000 awareness by discussing
some basic information about the problem. * DEA has stated that
the focus of its outreach efforts is making sure that its system
interfaces with state and local and other counterparts are fully
compliant. DEA is also working with state and local law
enforcement in field offices where DEA shares facilities with
local or state counterparts. In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, not
enough is known about the status of either the 9-1-1 system or of
state and local law enforcement activities to conclude about
either's ability during the transition to the Year 2000 to meet
the public safety and well-being needs of local communities across
the nation. The Emergency Services and Telecommunications working
groups have been active in this area and plan to follow up on
their initial surveys. The Police/Public Safety/Law
Enforcement/Criminal Justice working group has further to go to
develop a more defined assessment but is moving forward. However,
more needs to be done than simply determining the status of these
two critical sectors. More specifically, these sectors, under the
leadership of the Council, should use the information made
available through the working group assessments to identify
specific risks and develop appropriate strategies and contingency
plans to respond to those risks. Mr. Chairman, that concludes my
statement. I would be happy to respond to any questions you or the
Committee members have. # #! Letter Page 12
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