NCJ Number
210840
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 32 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2005 Pages: 102,104,106-108,110
Date Published
July 2005
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article describes Powell County's (Montana) overhaul of its E-911 system to make safer responses to the prison located in the county, to locate residents who prefer to call the sheriff's office's administration line instead of 911, and to increase patrol response time by making dispatchers' jobs more efficient.
Abstract
Powell County encompasses the rugged, rural Montana terrain; a sparse, mostly elderly population; and the Montana State Penitentiary. The overhaul of the 911 system was achieved by working with a local computer network solutions company, InfoMine of the Rockies, Inc. It involved implementing the pc/psap Intelligent E-911 Workstation offered by InfoMine's strategic partner EXTEND Communications Corp. Three features make pc/psap ideal for many small, rural agencies. First, it is software-based, making it accessible through whatever hardware is available, precluding investment in a new, proprietary PSAP system. Second, it is Voice Over IP (VoIP) capable, so that an already compatible software solution lowers costs even further. Third, it integrates 911 and administrative lines. InfoMine's role was to integrate pc/psap with all dispatch systems, including the agency's records management, mapping, State criminal justice information network, and the Montana Supreme Court video-conferencing systems. This article details the steps in the overhaul, with attention to how costs were lowered and services tailored to county needs. One of the most important features of pc/psap for the county dispatchers is to allow unique entries for the penitentiary in the automatic location information (ALI) database within the broader county ALI database. Emergency calls from the prison are distinguished by particular prison locations, assisting dispatchers in pinpointing an incident's source. Possible future directions for the county's E-911 system are mentioned.