To most telecommunications operators, dispatching is a very personal occupation. We often know officers by voice and can tell if they are uncomfortable by the changes in their tone. In rural areas and small towns, 9-1-1 callers can say the disturbance is at Charlie's and the operator knows the exact address. But as technology has continued to change and more jurisdictions and disciplines are choosing to work together to save money, emergency communication centers are evolving. Many are consolidating. These agencies are often referred to as joint or central dispatch centers.
Tri-Com
Although many centers are only beginning to address consolidation, one agency merged several departments thirty-two years ago. Tri-Com 9-1-1 Central Dispatch, located in St. Charles (IL) joined together Batavia, City of Geneva and St. Charles Police and Fire Departments in 1976. "All my cities originally dispatched for themselves. I was a dispatcher for the City of Geneva which was police and fire at that time," explains Jerry Bleck, Director of Communication at Tri-Com. "Our equipment was becoming antiquated and our facilities were becoming crowded and there was little room to expand." With this in mind, as well as, the new 9-1-1 system, the chiefs got together and discussed a consolidated center. Each of the cities had grants available both from federal and state sources. "So the cities combined together to ask those entities if they would be willing to fund a consolidated PSAP," Bleck says. Tri-Com was born.
Saving Money
When considering consolidation agencies look at several issues. One of the main benefits is financial. "It helps save money by sharing equipment," Bleck states. "Back before we got together everyone had a radio system, a telephone system, and a recorder. By consolidating, we could reduce the amount of equipment we needed." Consolidated agencies also have individualized budgeting rather than being just another part of the police or fire budget.
Technology
Technology is another important consideration. "We were one of the first to go to an individual portable radio system for officers," explains Bleck. "The affordability for the latest technology is increased because you have different communities and government bodies supplying funding. You can be sure you keep up with the technology which is more important than ever in this millennium."
Employees
Most agencies are concerned with recruiting and retaining quality employees, as well. A central dispatch center can assist in this. "You can have fewer employees because employees become sheared between entities," Bleck says. These employees also have uniform training and operations, so the quality of service is enhanced by consistency. "The fact you have police department and fire agencies participating under uniform dispatching, everyone is aware of how everything works because everything works the same way." Bleck says. "Radios are compatible and we talk to each other every day." Before interoperability became a buzz word, Tri-Com was accomplishing it.
Manning the Station
Although centralized dispatching has many benefits, numerous agencies see disadvantages. One which is a problem for many small agencies is the fact their dispatcher is often the person who keeps the police station open. "If you have a police department that needs to be open to the public, a lot of time the dispatcher was the one who did that at night," Bleck explains. All the agencies of Tri-Com chose to keep their stations available. "In our case the records personnel became the 24 hours a day operators to keep the station open if someone needs to see an officer or make a report."
Familiarity
Another concern of consolidation is the loss of familiarity with locations and officers. In the Preliminary 9-1-1 Consolidation Plan for Lane County (OR), the writers told legislators, "The consolidation... would be detrimental to the service provided to the citizens... The consolidation of the PSAPs will cause a delay, not only because of the call transfer time, but because of the lack of local knowledge in determining where an emergency is actually located and any special circumstances associated with the area."
Tri-Com recognized this disadvantage and put a two-pronged system in place. First, operators do ride-alongs with officers to become familiar with the areas they dispatch for. Second, during orientation, officers spend an eight-hour shift at the dispatch center. This helps the operators become familiar with the officers and vice versa. Whether consolidation has a negative effect because of unfamiliarity, Bleck explains, "I suppose to some degree there is a little loss of familiarity between folks. I don't know of any situation that it's impacted the service we give. There is no detriment to the officers on the street. We don't know as much about the officers today. I'm not sure if I would know who the wives and husbands are and how many kids they have, but I'm not sure if that is a necessary part of performing this function."
Control
An aspect that affects management is a consolidated agency removes total control from individual agencies. "People must share their wants and desires in an operation like this," Bleck says. "If you're a police chief or fire chief coming from an agency where you had your own dispatch center where you dictated what was done, it might be a shocker. You have to sit down and everyone somehow at the end of the discussion must agree to agree."
Like the Oregon legislative debate, many states are discussing consolidation. Several, including Minnesota and New Jersey require consolidation by a certain date.
Agencies see the benefit in working together both financially and operationally. Although many dispatchers do not like change, especially when it removes control, the advantages to the community must be considered. We serve the residents. They do not serve us.
According to Bleck, central dispatching has been a success. "In 1975, we signed the agreement which only mandated it for four years. We're still all together in 2008. We still have all the original parties. There have only been three minor modifications made to the inter-government agreement. I've seen a lot of officials come and go, whether they be police chiefs or fire chiefs; mayors or elected officials. We've found over a long period of time this works very well."
