Subject: [NEXTEL-1] 'Dead Zones' hamper police Calhoun County plans new system to alleviate problems

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 09:16:22 -0400

Sunday, June 15, 2003

Local News

'Dead Zones' hamper police Calhoun County plans new system to alleviate problems
By Christine Iwan
The Enquirer

Part of a dispatcher's job is to ask questions, but there's one that a dispatcher
hopes never to ask.
"Can you hear me now?"

With the current Calhoun County emergency 911 dispatch system, there are times
when that question is relevant. "Dead zones," from which a dispatcher and an
officer in the field can't communicate, do exist in areas throughout the county.

That situation, which could put an officer in danger, some aging equipment and the
opportunity to get financial help have officials in Calhoun County planning for a
new 911 system within the next few years.
Tom Case, who was a Calhoun County deputy for 28 years before retiring in 2001 and
now is Union City police chief, underscores the importance of reliable
communication between a dispatcher and officers in the field.
A police saying used to be that an officer's gun was the most important piece of
equipment, he said, but that has changed to the radio.

Dead spots in radio transmissions are always a concern to officers.
"It can make you feel all alone," Case said. "Sometimes you could hear them but
you would be yelling and they can't hear you."

Case said officers knew where the dead spots were, notably around Homer, East
Leroy and Athens, although the problems decreased over the years as the equipment
improved.

"You know where they are and when you get there, it is not a good feeling."
Linking everyone together with advanced technology and a central communication
system will make the jobs safer for police and firefighters, said Greg Purcell,
county administrator.

Now is an optimal time to pursue a new, centralized 911 system, officials say,
because grant money is available for advancing technology and making it easier for
agencies to communicate with each other.
"If we don't come together and move forward and advance the technology and realize
technology doesn't come easy, we're not going to get a bite of the apple for some
time," Calhoun County Sheriff Allen Byam said.
Calhoun County already has a central communications center that handles most
agencies, including the sheriff's department, the Battle Creek Police Department
and all of the county's volunteer fire departments. Only the cities of Albion and
Marshall continue to do their own dispatching.

But county officials are trying to create a more integrated system.

Eventually, the county likely will go to the voters and ask for a millage to pay
for the center if the details can be agreed upon by the 26 agencies within
Calhoun.

"We want to make sure that everyone is feeling positive that the needs for their
agency are being met," Purcell said. "Whatever the final configuration of the
consolidated E-911 center, it has to meet the needs of all the agencies out
there."

Robert Muladore, who was hired as the E-911 communications coordinator, has
released a feasibility study for a Calhoun County Consolidated Public Safety
Communications Center that investigated if a central center would work in the
county. The study was required to be done by November, but came out ahead of
schedule in March.
If a consolidated center is developed, it would have 30 dispatchers to handle an
average of nearly 150,000 calls for service received each year, the study states. 
Even with a smooth transition, it would take two years after a final plan was
created to implement it.

Muladore identified four key decisions that need to be made before a plan can be
put into place -- how the organization will be structured, where the center will
be located, what kind of equipment will be used and how it will be paid for.

WHAT WE HAVE NOW

Tucked away inside the Battle Creek Police Station, dispatchers work 24 hours a
day in eight-hour shifts. They sit in front of elaborate computer monitors,
simultaneously talking to officers, listening to callers, typing in information
and watching the screen.

Jill Fish, dispatch manager for the center, said the lives of the police officers
and firefighters from all over the county are in the hands of her dispatchers.

A lone Albion Public Safety dispatcher, Jeanie McIntosh, performs the exact same
job in the front lobby of the police station on the other side of the county. She
takes calls, but she's also the department's switchboard and the first face people
see when they visit the downtown police station.

"It can get busy during a storm, and it's particularly difficult if there's a
tornado," she said. "Dispatch is typically who people call when they want
information about what's going on."

Both dispatch systems work. Dialing 911 delivers help the same way in Albion as it
does in Urbandale or Athens or Bedford or Lakeview.

But there are discrepancies. The current communications system has equipment
between one and 15 years old, the study states. Besides the "dead zones" where the
equipment doesn't work, the county dispatchers often have difficulty in
communicating with the Michigan State Police, which uses a more advanced
technology.
Bringing all the departments in line, officials state, makes sense for county
residents because it makes the process of bringing a police officers, firefighter
or emergency medical technician to a caller easier.
"I think it's the best way to get enhanced service to the citizens in Calhoun
County," Fish said.

WHAT HAPPENS NOW

Calhoun County's Emergency Telephone District Board already has agreed unanimously
that an independent agency would be the best way to organize a central center to
serve three ambulance services, 15 fire departments, six public safety or police
departments, the sheriff's department and the Michigan State Police Battle Creek
Post. The decision still requires every jurisdiction in Calhoun County to approve
that plan, Muladore said.
The authority would have broad powers but answer to a board, which could be born
from the existing E-911 Telephone District Board. Now three separate committees
will wrestle with the details of the plan.
Some of the details are pretty technical.

The aging dispatch equipment and the radios carried by police officers and
firefighters are among the reasons this proposal is being considered. In many
instances, the equipment is outdated and needs to be replaced, the study states.

Lt. John Collins, of the Albion Department of Public Safety, said his department's
equipment is so old that its manufacturer has stopped making replacement parts. 
The study states that it is generally 1985 vintage and is "continually
malfunctioning."

"Right now, there are still parts out there," he said. "As soon as those parts are
gone, we're going to have to start looking at new equipment."

Luckily, Collins said, no major problems have occurred in recent years.

Albion, along with the rest of the county, is still using VHF radios, which is the
technology that allows officers to talk in their cars or on portable radios to the
dispatch center. It's also what is heard on scanners that can be purchased at most
any electronics store.

Part of the move in law enforcement is toward 800 MHz systems, especially with the
Michigan Public Safety Communications System, which has towers in place and is
used by 196 agencies, the study states.
This system allows for more communication among different kinds of departments,
like state and federal law enforcement agencies. However, many fire department
officials want to keep the VHF radios because of concerns about cost and the
ability to communicate inside of buildings. Also, the 800 MHz system does not
allow for tone paging, which is used to alert firefighters of an emergency.

According to a study done in Calhoun County, the 800 MHz system is much safer than
the current system.
Muladore conducted 5,910 tests in every Calhoun County township and in Battle
Creek. According to the data, the VHF portable radio, which is what the county
currently uses, was tested 1,989 times and failed 485 of those, or 18 percent of
the time. These "dead spots" mean there is no communication for the officer or
firefighter in the field.

The 800 MHz portable radio was tested 2,212 times and failed 133 times, or 6
percent. Muladore said the nature of the 800 MHz signal allows for a better rate
of success.

Because there are so many decisions left to make, the study states "operational
costs cannot be estimated with any degree of accuracy at this time."

WHY DO THIS NOW

The history of consolidated dispatching in Calhoun County dates back three decades
when the Area Metropolitan Services Agency was created with the cities of Battle
Creek and Springfield and the townships of Bedford, Emmett, Pennfield, Leroy and
Newton.

Nine years ago, the agencies went a step further by creating a consolidated
dispatch center for the county that included all departments except Albion and
Marshall. The Battle Creek Police Department agreed to provide dispatching in
exchange for the sheriff's department providing 30 beds in the county jail.
While this system has worked in securing 911 service throughout the county, member
agencies have argued there is an inequitable funding mechanism because all county
residents pay a 4 percent surcharge, the townships contribute member fees and
Battle Creek uses general fund money.

"It will even out some of the cost," Byam said. "Some of the townships feel they
are overly putting into the system."

Also, grant money is available for agencies with the ability to communicate with
other departments. Muladore said "interoperability" is the new key phrase,
especially since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 placed more emphasis on
federal, state and local agencies communicating with each other.

Several nearby counties have consolidated dispatch centers. Branch County central
dispatch turned a mishmashed system into a single center about 11 years ago. It is
one of the oldest consolidated systems in the area and is viewed as a model for
Michigan counties and those in nearby states.

Kurt Spaulding, dispatch manager for the dispatch center near Coldwater and one of
the people who helped created the center, said there was a general agreement
within the county that this was the best system for the residents. The voters saw
it that way, twice passing a millage to pay for the center, he said. The millage
was passed for 1 mill, although only .75 of a mill is being collected, in addition
to the 4 percent telephone surcharge being assessed, which is also what Calhoun
County uses.

"One of the benefits I see is you have one central connecting place for everything
which makes it easier to dispatch," Spaulding said. "It enhances the response for
the citizens. It makes it better and safer for the community."

The Branch County center still uses VHF radios and connects with the state police,
which uses the new 800 MHz technology, with a patch. A patch allows incompatible
radio systems to connect, a system that has worked well in Branch, Spaulding said.

But more important than the technology or the location is the staff, he said. In
Branch, Spaulding hasn't had to hire a dispatcher in two years, a long time in a
profession that typically has high turnover.
"We all do the same job in these dispatch centers but I've never seen two who do
it the same," he said. "It's a really a strange profession. ... You find what
works for your area. I'm a firm believer the staff is the reason for success in
any profession."

Christine Iwan covers Albion and Calhoun County government. She can be
reached at 966-0684 or [email-masked]
Staff writer Trace Christenson contributed to this report.
Originally published Sunday, June 15, 2003

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/news/stories/20030615/localnews/482613.html

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