New 911 Dispatch System in Missouri Cuts Call Times

For emergency responders, the slightest delays could be the difference between life and death. In light of that simple fact, Missouri's Polk County Emergency 911 Center recently replaced its limited computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system to improve efficiency in the field.

After going live this summer, the center's new CAD system from Global Software Corp. gives dispatchers access to address histories, records from law enforcement agencies and lists the availability of officers and units. Perhaps the biggest upgrade is the map-based software, which traces landline calls for dispatchers and triangulates cell phone calls within three meters.

Because the older system had no map, dispatchers lost precious time trying to pinpoint call origins.

"We had no way of knowing where they were," said Richard Roark, director of the 911 Center. "It could create an additional minute or two and sometimes more than that to locate somebody."

Go to Government Technology's Web site to learn more about Polk County's new CAD system.

[Photo courtesy of Jason Pack/FEMA.]