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EDITORIAL: Good move for Manatee County to invite stakeholders to 911 system design talks [The Bradenton Herald](Bradenton Herald (FL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 05--As Manatee County government forges ahead with a plan to acquire state-of-the-art emergency call technology, all the stakeholders should be a part of the conversation. In a turnaround, county Administer Ed Hunzeker proposed just that and commissioners agreed Thursday to form an ad hoc group that includes, among county officials, the county's municipal police chiefs and the sheriff's office. This essential upgrade has been discussed for years, but when the county's public safety director went public with details about a new 911 system, the disclosure took Manatee County police chiefs off guard for not being consulted. The director of the county's Information Technology Department, Paul Alexander, outlined details of a new system at Tuesday's Council of Governments meeting a day after explaining the idea to the Bradenton Herald. A critical upgrade Inarguably, the county must upgrade since the current phone-based system is not only obsolete, the vendor indicated support will be curtailed. An advanced Internet Protocol would support streaming video, still images, text messages and email, providing first responders with far more information -- potentially life-saving. By pinpointing 911 call locations via the global-positioning systems in cell phones and other devices, first responders could react with confidence in driving to the scene. Today's telephone-only, copper-wire 911 system truly is a dinosaur. But like other Florida counties, Manatee holds state authority over 911 systems and controls the funding. Since the municipalities serve their residents with law enforcement and fire protection, those representatives should be consulted to ensure the best public safety service. For months, the county has been moving forward on designing a new 911 system but never brought other stakeholders into the planning. Bradenton Police Chief Michael Radzilowski, Palmetto Police Chief Rick Wells and Holmes Beach Police Chief William Tokajer questioned this lack of dialogue in previous Herald coverage. Outrage disappears quickly Before Thursday's commendable development, Radzilowski expressed outrage over the lack of consultation. He first approached the county with his concerns back in 2007 but got nowhere. Today, that outrage has evaporated as he stated after commission approval of an ad hoc group: "I think that's a terrific idea for all stakeholders to sit down and figure out what is the best thing to do for city and county residents. I look forward to working with the other representatives." The problem is this: Bradenton, Palmetto and Longboat Key operate their own call centers, and the county proposal would relocate those operations to Manatee's Emergency Operations Center. The cost savings are significant in both capital and operating expenses. But that fails to address the primary concern from police -- a public safety and service issue. Currently, the vast majority of 911 calls are routed to the ECC. Bradenton's call center receives only landline phone connections, not cellular ones. The ECC receives calls from municipal residents and sends them to city dispatchers. That takes time -- and delays a response. Better customer service To demonstrate the potential for worsened outcomes from slowed dispatches, Radzilowski gave the Herald a one-day data log on wireless transfers from the ECC to Bradenton operations. That Aug. 10 log of more than 240 calls showed an average time lag of 56 seconds from the ECC. Twenty-seven of those surpassed two minutes while three calls exceeded three and four minutes and two eclipsed five minutes. Response to a vehicle crash with injuries was delayed by two minutes and 51 seconds. A robbery in progress didn't get police dispatch for two minutes, 55 seconds. Radzilowski, displeased with the current system, desires better customer service. As he states, two minutes is an eternity when someone's holding a gun to your head. By receiving cellular calls directly, the BPD communications center could dispatch responses quicker and more efficiently. Even with a Bradenton dispatcher sitting in the ECC, emergency calls would still be transferred from a 911 operator, Radzilowski notes. The so-called Next Generation 911 system holds great promise for public safety. Concerns that Manatee County would impose a one-size-fits-all system on cities have now been eased. ___ (c)2014 The Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.) Visit The Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.) at www.bradenton.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |