Can of Worms (?)

[RevGary]

County, City and Town Administrators have, for years, debated the merits and disadvantages of (1) consolidated 911 dispatch centers and also (2) having one countywide independent rescue service rather than each individual community having their own.

There is a proposal on record from the Green Bay City Council meeting last week to have Green Bay pull out of the county 911 dispatch center and initiate their own again. The reasoning given was that there are so many mistakes being made at the current center that time critical dispatches are being delayed and citizens and their safety and property are suffering because of it. I occasionally monitor the dispatches for fire and EMT from my location just outside the area and I have heard many tone dispatches for fire or rescue that are cancelled and then the correct jurisdiction is dispatched - wasting precious response time in the process.

There is also a mention of adopting a single rescue service in Brown County, similar to the operations of Gold Cross in Outagamie, Calumet and Winnebago Counties, and doing away with all the city and town rescue units as a cost saving measure and a lessening of liability claims and insurance rates to the communities.

Anyone have their own pro and con thoughts about (1) dispatch errors creating havoc in your own areas and (2) the single contracted rescue service format?

 

[1268]

yes and no

Revgary, I have kicked this same issue around in different parts of the US, I think all units should be dispatched from the county, most of there errors come from other issues, first off the dispatchers are under paid and appreciated, the need better pay and management, upgraded equipment and some people at the city and county goverment level to sit in on a shift ( most of those people don't have a clue ! ) As for the rescue plan, DO NOT DO IT, keep your local EMS as long as poissible, they know the area better as well as the locals, just as a example : Mrs Smith in Denmark has a special medical condition, everyone there knows about it , when paged Denmark rescue already knows there going to that kind of situation, Will a regional or private service know that ?? It's about whats best for Green Bay, but listening to the online scanner feed, there problems are not that bad. Just my two cents worth.

 

[SCPD]

The county wide dispatch center is the best. This way all the dispatchers know what is going on and the dispatchers can just talk or shout for what they need from the other dispatch, like extra units. Also the other dispatch may already have units on the way.

Were as if you have more than one dispatch center, I'll use your example of Green Bay of what Green Bay want to do. Lets say Brown county SO needs back up from GBPD just outside the city limits. The county dispatch would have to call them on the phone or on the radio, like point if GBPD uses it. That can reduce response time as well.

I have seen the county wide dispatch in action. Douglas County Nebraska and Omaha Nebraska share the same dispatch center. All public safety dispatching is done through that center. They have it set up where all the police dispatch are by each other in a circle, six total 4 Omaha police and 2 county wide. The fire dispatch get their own room, because of the noise.

On the EMS each township should have their own because they know what going on.

The problem Brown county maybe having with dispatching the wrong could be their CAD system. With good CAD systems the address comes up on a map and will suggest what units or units that are in service to dispatch. Instead of Green Bay getting their own center they should upgrade the one they have.

 

[RevGary]

Just got some additional details..from an Alderman -

ALL dispatch communications from the 911 center in Brown County to Green Bay FIRE AND Green Bay PD (ONLY) are done by hotline phone and by direct computer screen forwarding, not by radio. GB is not dispatched directly by the 911 center ever - it is all done by phone and computer from 911 to the dispatchers at the PD and FIRE headquarters respectively. THEN the PD or FIRE dispatchers tone out or dispatch their OWN equipment or personnel. The thinking of the City Council members is that one step would be eliminated in the process if GB answered their OWN 911 phones rather than waiting for the dispatch center to take the call, type it in the on-screen form and then send it over to the dispatch consoles at the GB PD and FD. It would eliminate one additional step and reduce the possiblity of clerical misunderstandings... or so they are saying.

Green Bay will not relinquish their OWN radio dispatching from their own personnel in the office to the PD and FD personnel. The 911 center only gathers info for them and passes it on - "wasting time", according to the Council members in favor of the separation.

 

[OpSec]

The county wide dispatch center is the best. This way all the dispatchers know what is going on and the dispatchers can just talk or shout for what they need from the other dispatch, like extra units. Also the other dispatch may already have units on the way.

Were as if you have more than one dispatch center, I'll use your example of Green Bay of what Green Bay want to do. Lets say Brown county SO needs back up from GBPD just outside the city limits. The county dispatch would have to call them on the phone or on the radio, like point if GBPD uses it. That can reduce response time as well.

I have seen the county wide dispatch in action. Douglas County Nebraska and Omaha Nebraska share the same dispatch center. All public safety dispatching is done through that center. They have it set up where all the police dispatch are by each other in a circle, six total 4 Omaha police and 2 county wide. The fire dispatch get their own room, because of the noise.

On the EMS each township should have their own because they know what going on.

The problem Brown county maybe having with dispatching the wrong could be their CAD system. With good CAD systems the address comes up on a map and will suggest what units or units that are in service to dispatch. Instead of Green Bay getting their own center they should upgrade the one they have.

I will offer the counterpoint on this one.

Case in point, the Waukesha County Communications center (WCC). They not only fail to communicate effectively between each other, but the often fail to communicate effectively on the radio to police and fire units. There are 3-5 minute gaps between the time a calltaker gets a phone call to the time the information makes it to the radio...regardless of call type or priority. The dispatchers often have no idea what's going on at various positions and this often results in multiple calls (incomng or outgoing) to other allied agencies just to get information correct.

When the sheriff's department and the muni's had their own comm centers, all was well and things worked much more smoothly. So far, I'm not impressed with this consolidated idea.

 

[jts203]

I have to agree with stateboy. In Kenosha, the joint dispatch center is a nightmare. It has only gotten worse over the years. Dispatchers sit 4' apart and you would think they were in separate buildings the way information is passed on. Additionally, when any emergency occurs anywhere in the county, the rest of the agencies grind to a halt because there is not enough help. Calls sit for precious minutes waiting to be dispatched, even when plenty of squads are available. If you have a chance to stay with your own dispatch center, do it.