New Fairfield County 911 system upgrade can lead to dispatchers seeing caller's address
LANCASTER − When someone calls the Fairfield County 911 dispatch center from their cell phone dispatchers do not see their address. The address only shows if the caller is using a landline, which Sheriff Alex Lape said only about 10% use.
But a new system the sheriff's office will implement this year will change that by allowing addresses to show up from cell phone calls. Lape said he hopes to have it working by summer. The system will cost about $500,000 with five yearly payments of $100,000.
"With this new technology, over time we can do a lot of things with it," Lape said. "With this new software you can actually put caller information in there upon receiving that initial call. And the next time that they would make a call with that number it would populate that screen."
That information may include medical information or a warning to deputies of problems previously reported at a particular address. The new system will also send a link to the caller so they can send a video back to the dispatcher.
"So if it's a serious car accident or something along those lines they can turn their phone around and allow the dispatcher to see exactly what it is that they're calling about," Lape said. "Whether it's a fire or a crash or whatever the circumstances may be. It's some pretty cool technology."
Furthermore, the new system will be able to translate into 28 different languages. The new system will also let Lape's office set up a dispatch area anywhere.
"It's web-based," he said. "We can take a laptop and a portable radio and set up a dispatch center at the courthouse on Main Street or anywhere for that matter because it doesn't require that hard (phone) line. So we can go to the Lancaster Festival in the command truck and set up a dispatch center.
"And with that technology, we could build a geofence that would go around the festival grounds. If somebody would call 911 at the Lancaster Festival it would ring into the command center and not the office."
One caveat to the new calling system is the caller's address will not show up the first time they call on their cell phone. So how is the new system a benefit with that issue?
"It would benefit because say you have an ongoing medical issue, just as an example," Lape said. "And you call the first time and they communicate with you and get your name and information, they can put that data in. So the second time you would call it would populate that field. Right now we don't get anything."
But Lape said someone could potentially call the sheriff's office once the new system is in place to register their cell number.
Lape said the timing for the new system is good since the state has mandated all 911 systems across Ohio to be restructured. He said the county is already working on that aspect.
jbarron@gannett.com
740-681-4340
Twitter/X: @JeffDBarron
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: County 911 dispatch center set for $500,000 upgrade by the summer
