New emergency dispatch system enhances response time

By Ben Woods
bwoods@casscountysun.com

The Cass County Sheriff’s Department and Atlanta Police Department both recently received two grants to update their emergency dispatch equipment.
Judge Becky Wilbanks applied for the grant for the dispatch consoles through the Homeland Security Administration.
The new consoles allow faster access through the safety network which in turn decreases the response time. The cost of the console hat the Atlanta Police Department and Cass County received was roughly $60,000 each.
“We wouldn’t have been able to attain this if it wasn’t for the grant,” Emergency Dispatch Coordinator Robin Betts said.
Specialized training was needed for the new equipment. That training was through the vendor that the console was purchased from. The cost of the training was also encompassed under the grant they received. 
The new desk for the consoles cost roughly $25,000 each and are suited for the needs of the console and the dispatchers.  They have special stands for the consoles and many monitors to mount along with lights, fans, and an adjustable workspace. 
“We had a lot of updating to do because the state came in and said they needed everyone to be on the same page because we had different counties that would be on different types of frequencies,” said Betts. 
 The state of Texas wants all the counties to have the same system so they will all be compatible. 
The county started updating the radios in the cars and the officer’s radios around seven years ago. The dispatch console being replaced was one of the last updates done to bring the system up to date. This allows them to communicate with any state or federal resources that is needed.
The new dispatch console has an entire rack of radios connected to it for all types of emergency channels.  
Now with the new system if a dispatcher needs to send the same message to firemen as well as the police then they will be able to bridge the radios and send the same message simultaneously. 
Before this there would need to be multiple messages spoken across many channels which took up more time therefore increasing the response time. 
“During the Bear Creek fire there were many resources that came in to assist and we were unable to communicate with them out in the field,” Betts said, “so we had to supply them communication equipment so they would know what their assignments and job duties were.” 
“This has occurred from the hurricane issues because there were many communication issues for multi agency response. 
“One thing we have done through the Ark-Tex Council of Government in conjunction with that is we have upgraded the console desk for the 911 center and these desk are geared for that of duty.
“All this wouldn’t have came to be if it wasn’t for the Homeland Security program and the 911 program.” 
Atlanta Police Department received a new dispatch console in 2015 and the new console for the county was installed in late 2016.