Chesterton’s Town Council and Chesterton Police Chief Tim Richardson are calling for the immediate resignation of Porter County E-911 Director Debbie Gunn, accusing her of false statements regarding the performance of the Chesterton/Porter joint dispatch center during the June 18 officer-involved shooting.
Fort Smith and Sebastian County are working to consolidate all emergency calls into one location. The City of Fort Smith will operate the new consolidated 911 call center. A board made up of city and county leaders will oversee the facility, but they only have about 18 months to get the new center built and operational. During an emergency, 911 is often the first call for help. Just in Fort Smith alone, dispatchers answered more than 60,000 emergency calls last year.
Reps. VanderWall, Morgan introduce bills creating grant program to modernize public safety communication
Harnessing technology to modernize the way public safety agencies interact and communicate with their citizens is the hallmark of the legislative proposal in House Bills 4661 and 4662.
Key takeaways
Most people don’t give much thought about 9-1-1—until they need to call. Whether it’s a medical emergency, a fire, or a crime in progress, that quick phone call can make the difference between life and death. Behind the scenes, a highly coordinated system is in place to ensure that help arrives fast and efficiently. This system, the 9-1-1 emergency communication center, is a critical lifeline connecting the public to first responders. Without it, chaos would often replace order in moments of crisis.
