Dade City Police Chief Ray Velboom could see the need for better communications between his police officers and deputies with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, on a daily basis.
Each agency had 911 centers operating on different radio frequencies.
“We’re surrounded by the county. We interact with them every day,” said Velboom. But, a deputy who needed assistance just outside city limits might be sent backup from 10 miles away, when a Dade City police officer was a few blocks away.
Critical time can be lost and the safety of police officers jeopardized, Velboom said.
On Oct. 5, a consolidation of the Dade City 911 Center and Pasco County’s Public Safety Communications addressed that problem.
Two staff members from Dade City completed weeks of training with the new consolidated system and transferred to Pasco’s Emergency Operations Center in New Port Richey.
The consolidation had been under discussion for two years as a way to increase both public safety and efficiency.
“It just made sense,” Velboom said.
The consolidation also reduces duplication because Dade City police officers now will file police reports on the county’s system. Both agencies previously had separate records management systems.
“We’ll be sharing all the data,” said Velboom.
Dade City will pay the county about $90,000 a year.
Velboom will serve on a board of directors that will oversee emergency operations, including the hiring and firing of staff.
“We have some ownership of this,” he said.
Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said law enforcement agencies across the country are moving toward consolidation, in part due to recommendations that emerged after the 9/11 terrorists attacks.
“We have realized that public safety communications is critical for the safety of our citizens and first responders,” Nocco said.
Several months ago, the Pasco County Commission approved hiring of eight additional call takers for the county’s emergency operations.
Call takers answer 911 calls and relay information to dispatchers who use GPS tracking to pinpoint locations of patrol units for both Dade City and the county.
Pasco County has 15 administrative staff members and 82 operational members.
About 600,000 calls for service are answered each year.
The increasing volume of calls is complicated by the disappearance of landline phone service in favor of cellphones, Velboom said.
Under the old separate systems, a resident who called 911 in Dade City from a cellphone would reach the county’s emergency center in New Port Richey. That call would then be transferred to Dade City’s emergency center where information had to be repeated, and there was a chance of a dropped call.
“About 75 to 80 percent of 911 calls come in on cellphones,” Velboom said. “And cellphone calling is going to go up.”
Consolidation also has brought improvements regarding how calls are handled.
In years past, dispatchers were trained to handle one of three types of calls: police, fire or medical. Velboom said now dispatchers are cross-trained in all three protocols.
“One dispatcher can answer every call,” he said. “It makes it so much easier.”
Published October 7, 2015
