IDACS Added To State-Of-The-Art Dispatch Center
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
The epicenter of communications for most of Kosciusko County's emergency services is now tucked away in the basement of the Justice Building.
As of Dec. 15, the six-station dispatching center is up and running, with IDACS - a system that allows law enforcement to check licensing records information - installation completed last week.
The new location provides not only a larger work space and state-of-the art equipment for the county's 10 full-time dispatchers, but also a few amenities, such as a locker room for stowing personal belongings and a kitchen for storing and/or preparing meals during eight-hour shifts when dispatchers are confined to their work area.
"It's a whole new environment," said Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine. "It's a whole new world."
Rovenstine said representatives from more than a dozen police departments throughout the state have come to tour the new dispatch quarters. Emergency Radio Services of Fort Wayne, the company that installed the dispatch equipment, is using Kosciusko County as a model for other emergency services customers.
"We're on the cutting edge," Rovenstine said. "It's a big improvement. ... We're heading in the right direction."
Five of the six dispatch stations are set up with radio communications, an in-house computer and a 911 computer. The sixth station has all but the radio.
The computers are operated by touch screens, with dispatchers able to switch between agency frequencies simply by touching the icon of the agency with whom they are talking.
Once other features are added to the system, dispatchers will be able to identify which officer is contacting them when he transmits from his in-car radio whether he speaks or not, and mapping will be is on the computer screen when a 911 call comes into the center.
Rovenstine said the changes from the former dispatch center - a small room at the front of the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department between the jail and administrative offices - are far reaching. He said the dispatchers now have more space and room to grow, plus many of the nondispatching duties are eliminated. While located upstairs, dispatchers often dealt with people who came to the front counter of the KCSD, performed secretarial duties and doubled as jailers.
"They've had a burden lifted off them and, for the most part, can now be dispatchers," Rovenstine said. "They wore a lot of hats before."
In addition to improving conditions for the dispatchers, the new radio system makes radio traffic between the dispatch center and deputies clearer. The digital voice system "eliminates the background noise and hissing," Rovenstine said. "The road guys are real happy with the clear sound."
The basement location caused some apprehension among dispatchers concerned with not being able to see outdoors during their shift, but Mark Hughes said he likes it better now that they're down there.
"It's so much more peaceful," Hughes said. "We can concentrate on dispatching."
Entry to the communications room is gained only by a pass key and is otherwise secure to prevent access by unauthorized people. The same security is planned for the new jail.
Relocation of the dispatch center is one of the first steps in a major renovation and building project being undertaken by the county. Crews are in the process of demolishing several buildings in the block around the Justice Building, where a new jail will be built.
Plans to hire a dispatch supervisor are on hold until a decision is made by the city of Warsaw regarding whether it will merge the Warsaw Police Department dispatch with the county's, a plan that has been tossed around for more than a year. If that plan is agreed upon, the timetable remains unknown.
A committee to look into the matter is nearly in place, Rovenstine said, and comprises the mayor, police chief and sheriff, a county commissioner and an at-large member not related to any law enforcement agency.
All 911 calls are now received at KCSD, with the plug pulled on 911 at Warsaw as of the time the county's new center went online. The KCSD has the capability of directly dispatching WPD, something that wasn't possible with the previous communications system.
Steve Foster, chief of the WPD, said the decision to discontinue the 911 system came about to save the city about $15,000 in wiring fees that would not be recouped if the city later moved its police facilities. The city has been looking to relocate some of the city offices, including the police station. If a decision is later made to maintain separate dispatch centers, the city won't go to the expense of installing a 911 system until that determination is made, Foster said. [[In-content Ad]]
The epicenter of communications for most of Kosciusko County's emergency services is now tucked away in the basement of the Justice Building.
As of Dec. 15, the six-station dispatching center is up and running, with IDACS - a system that allows law enforcement to check licensing records information - installation completed last week.
The new location provides not only a larger work space and state-of-the art equipment for the county's 10 full-time dispatchers, but also a few amenities, such as a locker room for stowing personal belongings and a kitchen for storing and/or preparing meals during eight-hour shifts when dispatchers are confined to their work area.
"It's a whole new environment," said Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine. "It's a whole new world."
Rovenstine said representatives from more than a dozen police departments throughout the state have come to tour the new dispatch quarters. Emergency Radio Services of Fort Wayne, the company that installed the dispatch equipment, is using Kosciusko County as a model for other emergency services customers.
"We're on the cutting edge," Rovenstine said. "It's a big improvement. ... We're heading in the right direction."
Five of the six dispatch stations are set up with radio communications, an in-house computer and a 911 computer. The sixth station has all but the radio.
The computers are operated by touch screens, with dispatchers able to switch between agency frequencies simply by touching the icon of the agency with whom they are talking.
Once other features are added to the system, dispatchers will be able to identify which officer is contacting them when he transmits from his in-car radio whether he speaks or not, and mapping will be is on the computer screen when a 911 call comes into the center.
Rovenstine said the changes from the former dispatch center - a small room at the front of the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department between the jail and administrative offices - are far reaching. He said the dispatchers now have more space and room to grow, plus many of the nondispatching duties are eliminated. While located upstairs, dispatchers often dealt with people who came to the front counter of the KCSD, performed secretarial duties and doubled as jailers.
"They've had a burden lifted off them and, for the most part, can now be dispatchers," Rovenstine said. "They wore a lot of hats before."
In addition to improving conditions for the dispatchers, the new radio system makes radio traffic between the dispatch center and deputies clearer. The digital voice system "eliminates the background noise and hissing," Rovenstine said. "The road guys are real happy with the clear sound."
The basement location caused some apprehension among dispatchers concerned with not being able to see outdoors during their shift, but Mark Hughes said he likes it better now that they're down there.
"It's so much more peaceful," Hughes said. "We can concentrate on dispatching."
Entry to the communications room is gained only by a pass key and is otherwise secure to prevent access by unauthorized people. The same security is planned for the new jail.
Relocation of the dispatch center is one of the first steps in a major renovation and building project being undertaken by the county. Crews are in the process of demolishing several buildings in the block around the Justice Building, where a new jail will be built.
Plans to hire a dispatch supervisor are on hold until a decision is made by the city of Warsaw regarding whether it will merge the Warsaw Police Department dispatch with the county's, a plan that has been tossed around for more than a year. If that plan is agreed upon, the timetable remains unknown.
A committee to look into the matter is nearly in place, Rovenstine said, and comprises the mayor, police chief and sheriff, a county commissioner and an at-large member not related to any law enforcement agency.
All 911 calls are now received at KCSD, with the plug pulled on 911 at Warsaw as of the time the county's new center went online. The KCSD has the capability of directly dispatching WPD, something that wasn't possible with the previous communications system.
Steve Foster, chief of the WPD, said the decision to discontinue the 911 system came about to save the city about $15,000 in wiring fees that would not be recouped if the city later moved its police facilities. The city has been looking to relocate some of the city offices, including the police station. If a decision is later made to maintain separate dispatch centers, the city won't go to the expense of installing a 911 system until that determination is made, Foster said. [[In-content Ad]]