Photo By Tammy Reed | FORT LEE,VA - CentralSquare Computer Aided Dispatch instructor Kathleen LaRocca...... read more read more
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FORT LEE, VA - Fort Lee and Prince George County launched a partnership project in February 2019 to upgrade and share the neighboring community’s 911 Computer-Aided Dispatch system. On Tuesday, military and DA Civilian Police officers here fired up the devices that tie them in to the live call center network.
“This is something we’ve been working toward for a really long time,” confirmed DACP Lt. Jennifer Warshawsky, the PMO desk operations supervisor who was given the lead on implementing the new CAD linkup because of her enthusiasm for the upgrade. Up until the activation, she and her team of radio/telephone operators had been using a handwritten dispatch system that clearly could not function as fast as an automated one.
“I started here in 2002, and I had previously worked with other agencies and part-time with the Prince George Police Department,” Warshawsky said. “I had experienced how those agencies were doing dispatch and how the technology has advanced. It was apparent that Fort Lee was not as up-to-date with technology in emergency communications as it could be. Now we are, and once we get past the learning curve, we’re confident it will improve our response time.”
The CAD system operates from five servers in Prince George with a cloud-based backup. Its software precisely tracks the locations of all emergency units and their availability, whether on-duty or off. When there is an incoming call, dispatchers can quickly input the basic who, what and where details into the computer, hit enter, and the message immediately goes out to everyone on the system – police patrols, fire and other EMS vehicles.
“Our upgrade includes 46 new laptops with Automatic Vehicle Locators to be installed in Fort Lee’s emergency vehicles in the next phase of the project,” Warshawsky interjected.
When CAD identifies the unit that’s best positioned for a rapid response, another dispatcher can begin radio communication with that officer or crew while the original operator continues gathering additional information from the caller. Those further details are inputted and immediately available to the first responders. Everyone is being updated in real time.
“Now, you don’t have to stop your call to dispatch someone or wave and gesture to get another person’s attention so they can assist,” Warshawsky said. “The whole team will know what’s going on and get it done. Most importantly, though, we can stay on the line with that caller, which is very necessary.”
Improving Fort Lee’s ability to help out its neighbors is another huge benefit of the system.
“We provide mutual aid to other places like Hopewell, Dinwiddie and Prince George, and regional responses to HAZMAT emergencies,” Warshawsky explained. “Because we’re tied in with Prince George, this system allows us to see where their assets are as well, and we share important data.
“We also are tied in to the text-to-911 system they recently launched, and now we get more information right when the caller comes on the line, like their phone number and location, that we didn’t get before.”
Given all those advantages, Warshawsky said she’s confident the new CAD system will improve their ability to “protect and serve” Fort Lee.
“For example with the AVLs, we can see where our units are on the electronic map at all times, so you can tell the caller where help is if they’re out in the community,” she elaborated. “And we can track our crews as well in case they need help. We had a police officer faint in his car several years ago, and we didn’t know where he was. Fortunately a passer-by called us, and we got him the help he needed.
“This system will make things run smoother and quicker,” Warshawsky continued. “We are more capable of meeting the public’s expectations with this system. We have more stages to get through, but the dispatchers’ part is up and running. That’s a huge step in the process.”
Spc. Erick Graddick, a 217th Military Police Detachment Soldier and one of the RTOs who trained on the CAD and is ready to work with it, agrees with the lieutenant’s assessment of the system.
“The CAD is faster and more direct, getting more information out quicker,” he said. “Change can be difficult when it involves a lot of automation, but this is better for the Fort Lee community as far as safety goes. I’m looking forward to using it.”
| Date Taken: | 01.30.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 01.30.2020 11:41 |
| Story ID: | 361025 |
| Location: | FORT LEE, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 173 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Launch of high-tech dispatch system should improve 911 response times, by Tammy Reed, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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