Objective

To determine the extent of implementation of the three recommendations included in our initial audit report, Next Generation 911 Services (Report 2023-S-40).

About the Program

The 911 emergency communications system dates back to the late 1960s and is built upon legacy analog infrastructure that, in many places, is still used today. As technology has evolved, so has the 911 system, first with Enhanced 911, which automatically gave a dispatcher the caller’s telephone number and location, followed by Next Generation 911 (NG911), with enhanced capabilities that include voice, photos, videos, and text messages, and allow emergency calls to be rerouted to other counties’ Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), or call center. More importantly, NG911 transitions to a digital internet protocol-based network, which is faster and more resilient than the original analog infrastructure. The transition to NG911 is a very complex process and involves more than just replacing hardware and software. It requires coordination among a variety of emergency communications, public safety, legislative, and governing entities. In New York State, several agencies, including the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES), the Office of Information Technology Services (ITS), and the New York City Office of Technology and Innovation, as well as the individual counties, have a role in the transition.

The objectives of our initial audit, issued June 4, 2025, were to determine if DHSES was effectively overseeing the development and implementation of NG911, and whether ITS had controls in place to ensure that data used by 911 systems was adequately secured and conformed with the format and standard for NG911. The audit covered the period from January 2021 through December 2024. The audit found that DHSES was not effectively overseeing the development and implementation of the transition to NG911 throughout the State. While a State 911 Plan did exist, it did not include any details or guidance specific to NG911. In addition to the lack of NG911 inclusion in the State 911 Plan, many of the counties surveyed during the audit had not received specific guidance from DHSES for the transition from legacy 911 capabilities to NG911. Further, while looking at the Street and Address Maintenance program (SAM Program) managed by ITS, we identified weaknesses in technical controls for systems supporting the SAM Program that need to be corrected to ensure the selected information systems and their associated data are not at risk.

Key Findings

ITS and DHSES made significant progress in addressing the problems we identified in the initial audit report. All three of the audit report's recommendations were implemented.