by AllThingsECC.com | May 7, 2021 | Comm Center News
Jasper County Sheriff Mitchel Newman cut the ribbon on Friday, officially opening a new 911 dispatch facility that sports his name.
The “Sheriff Mitchel Newman Law Enforcement Communication Center” has been built on the north side of the Sheriff’s Department, and in addition to a much larger space for dispatchers to work in, the $800,000.00 building also features a large meeting room as well as a kitchen.
Newman, along with Chief Deputy Scotty Duncan pointed out that although the building has Newman’s name on it, the real driving force behind the project was former Chief Deputy Glenn Blank, who died in November of 2019 due to complications following a double lung transplant…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 7, 2021 | Comm Center News
CINCINNATI (FOX19) – The 911 dispatchers who answer more than a thousand emergency calls daily across Hamilton County and then quickly relay that critical information to police and fire crews so they can respond are working “crazy amounts” of mandatory overtime to keep up with critically low staffing levels, their boss says.
The rise in overtime so far this year is not impacting call times or service, according to Andrew Knapp, director of the county’s communications center…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 7, 2021 | Comm Center News
Public-safety representatives are expressing optimism that 4.9 GHz rules passed late last year could be halted or reversed, as FCC commissioners are considering an amendment that many sources believe is stay order suspending the 4.9 GHz rules that would let states lease the longtime public-safety airwave to commercial entities.
Last week, the FCC posted that an amendment to its 4.9 GHz order—docket 07-100—is being circulated among commissioners in preparation for a potential vote on the matter. Last fall, the FCC voted 3-2 along party lines—Republicans held the majority at the time—to let states lease 4.9 GHz spectrum to commercial entities, although the airwaves had been designated for public-safety use for almost two decades…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 7, 2021 | Comm Center News
Crestwood and Sunset Hills may be sister cities, but the cities’ aldermen had opposite reactions to a proposal for Sunset Hills to provide 911 dispatching for Crestwood.
The Crestwood Board of Aldermen gave the police dispatching agreement unanimous preliminary approval with no comment in the consent agenda April 27, while the Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen had concerns with the proposal that stopped it on final passage…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 7, 2021 | Comm Center News
The process to find a new Branch County 911 Central Dispatch director has drawn 25 candidates and is on track to name a person for that job by mid summer, Branch County Administrator Bud Norman told a commission work session Thursday.
“We are very pleased. This is more than expected,” Norman said. He said 37% came from within the county, with an equal number from adjacent countries.
After 911 directors around the state shared the notice of opening there were 18% from outside this area with 8% of the applicants outside Michigan. Norman used percentages rather than actual numbers…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 7, 2021 | Comm Center News
“We are the go between,” said Wells. “When they need assistance, we’re the ones they call and it’s our job to see to it that they get what they need, whether it’s medical or police; whatever they’re calling on, it’s our job to see to it that they get it.”
“No one calls the police department when they’re having a good day, so it’s our job, us as dispatchers, to de-escalate and get as much information as quickly as possible.”
Thankfully, things are not always hectic in the dispatch office, though Downey’s dispatchers ask that you refrain from ever using the word “quiet.”
According to Flinn, there are busier times of the year…
