The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), based in Alexandria, Virginia, has launched Application Community, or “AppComm,” a new website dedicated to public safety and emergency response apps for use by the general public, app developers, and first responders.  The press release announcing the launch said that “Today’s launch includes an initial listing of 60 apps selected by APCO that are representative of the value and diversity of existing public safety apps.  APCO is not currently endorsing or vetting any apps listed on AppComm, but does encourage visitors to evaluate the apps by using the rating and commenting features.  AppComm users, particularly first responders and APCO members, will provide critical insights to identify the best apps and facilitate practitioner-driven innovation.”

APCO 1st Vice President Gigi Smith said, “With its unique expertise in public safety communications, APCO is determined to play a major leadership role in supporting the development of a diverse, practitioner-driven public safety app ecosystem fostered through the collaborative efforts of public safety professionals and app developers. APCO designed AppComm to facilitate this collaboration by serving as the single, trusted site to review, comment, and rate public safety apps, as well as the best forum to submit ideas for new apps.  These features in turn will support our standards development efforts and allow us to foster innovation driven by public safety’s needs.”