Erlanger Public Safety Communications Center
MISSION STATEMENT
| The Mission of the Erlanger Public Safety Communications Center is to contribute to the safety and quality of life in our community by linking the citizens of our community, our neighboring communities and our associated public safety agencies with efficient, reliable, responsive and professional public safety communication services. |
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STAFFING
The Erlanger PSCC currently has a staff of 18. The administration of the PSCC is headed by Officer Steve Castor who is assisted by Operations Assistant Manager Matt Allen and Administration Assistant Manager David Leonard. The communications center is staffed by 2 Lead Dispatchers and 10 KY certified telecommunicators. The full time telecommunications staff is required to complete a 4 1/2 week telecommunications academy housed at the Department of Criminal Justice Center in Richmond, KY. A certified telecommunicator is required to obtain 12 hours of continuing education yearly, which is sanctioned by the Department of Criminal Justice Training. The PSCC is also supplemented by part time staff members who assist in handling 911 and non-emergency calls for service.
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CALLS FOR SERVICE
Each year the PSCC sees an increase in calls for service from the public. In 2009, the PSCC received 96,768 calls for assistance, 80,364 for police, 9385 for fire and 7019 for emergency medical services. |
NEW TECHNOLOGY
A key component of our current technology is the mobile data computer (MDC). This computer resides in the vehicles of the emergency services personnel. The MDC is capable of accessing mapping and building plans for firefighters, and vehicle ownership and drivers license information for police officers. Officers can also write reports in their vehicles, allowing them to spend more time on the road.
The Erlanger Police Department recently purchased a new computer aided dispatch (CAD) system for the communications center. This new system replaces the one purchased in 1998. The new CAD, manufactured by Alert Tracking Systems based in New Hilliard Ohio, has many new features that the previous CAD did not. Among the new features soon to be implemented is a connection to the Law Information Network (LINK) operated by the State of Kentucky, and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. When a dispatcher enters a license plate or driver’s license into a field on the CAD screen, the information is run through both the state and federal crime computers, and the information retrieved is placed into the name involvement or license plate file, saving the dispatcher valuable time by not having to manually enter the information into the database. Another new feature of the CAD is the ability to have the alert tones for the fire department and life squad go off automatically after the address and nature of the emergency is entered into the system. This again saves valuable time, as alert tones are now manually set off to notify the fire department and life squad.
Erlanger PSCC also provides a Helpdesk to better serve the agencies for whom we provide emergency communications. The Helpdesk covers all technical issues and requests for information including hardware, software, system errors, mobile data computers (MDC), passwords, tape requests, etc.
The Communications Center also operates a Twitter account, which was created in the summer of 2009. The name of the account is Erlanger911 and currently has over 200 followers.