Sussex towns get $1.3M grant for upgrade to 911 systems to meet coming standards

NEWTON — Four Sussex County towns are getting a total of $1.3 million in grants to upgrade their 911 emergency call centers to accept text and video calls and meet upcoming New Jersey standards.

Top police brass and town leaders from Andover, Hardyston, Newton and Sparta meet with Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5, on Tuesday to announce the funds arranged by his office.

"This will save more than a million in local taxpayer money," said Gottheimer, noting that the upgrades are part of what New Jersey will soon require of all local Public Safety Answering Points in the state. In addition to these four centers, there are also PSAPs operated by Hopatcong, Sheriff's Department and Vernon in the county.

The sheriff's department has already upgraded to the new system with grant money obtained by Sheriff Michael Strada. The Vernon and Hopatcong system upgrades are yet to be done.

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In addition to efficiency and electronics upgrades within the dispatch consoles, the upgrades will also provide dispatchers to receive both text and video from callers using modern cell phones.

One of the more helpful upgrades will be more accurate pinpointing of a caller's cell phone as well as marginally better coverage in the county's hills and valleys.

The nation's 911 system was developed a half-century ago and was based on analog technology. This new system, known as Next Generation 911 (NG911) is digitally based. While fixed telephone locations were entered into the system by address, cell phones were located by longitude/latitude and needed to be plotted on a map.

This upgraded system can narrow down the location from a 50-meter (165 feet) radius, down to about 15 feet.

As an example of the upgraded spotting of callers location, the hypothetical case of a hiker who has fallen off a trail and sustained a broken leg.

With the analog system, the cell phone could only pinpoint the location to a 320-foot circle, which in the woods or rough terrain, could waste valuable time on a search.

The injured person's location can now be zeroed in to about 15 feet, making for much quicker response and proper equipment for paramedics, with use of GPS technology.

Newton Police Chief Steven VanNieuwland said there are many situations he can envision where the enhanced video and text capabilities will be a help, but also noted "There will be other situations we just can't realize now as well."

As an example of a situation where text would help is someone hiding from an intruder or abuser in their home. Talking would alert to the caller's location, but texting is silent.

Texting will also enable those who may be deaf or mute to communicate with a dispatcher as well.

The chief noted that with video, a caller can show the fire being reported, or pan an accident scene.

"Dispatch can then call additional units immediately," the chief said.

Gottheimer said the big cities have been able to upgrade to the new system more readily than small- and medium-sized departments. "The money we can get from grants for upgrades like this, is money that doesn't come from the local tax base."

There are more than a dozen police departments in the county. The State Police, operating from the barracks in Frankford, covers those municipalities which don't have a police agency. The seven PSAPs handle all 911 calls and dispatch emergency services.

Some of the PSAPS handle police/fire/ambulance dispatching for other municipalities under contract. As an example, Sparta police currently dispatches for several smaller departments in the eastern part of the county.

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The sheriff's department, which does not have a law enforcement arm, does take 911 calls from much of the central and western part of county without police departments, including for the State Police barracks. That center, located in Frankford, also serves the county's emergency management operations.

Gottheimer said his office was informed about the grants becoming available and sent notification to all the municipalities in his district, which stretches across northern New Jersey and includes urban areas near the Hudson River and rural areas which border on the Delaware River.

Getting the grant "was a team effort. We all worked together," he said at the announcement in front of the Newton Police Department. "This will last for many years to come."

He said the four PSAPs involved serve more than 55,000 of the county's residents. He said aid to local emergency services includes the federal LESO program which provides, sometimes below cost, surplus federal property to local law enforcement, ranging from tactical gear to specialty vehicles.

As an example, he noted some departments have been able to get four-runners for rescue work in woods and off-trail.

He also noted that early next month, his office has set up a meeting with mayors and administrators of all towns in the county with federal officials to talk about issues and what kind of federal aid and programs are avilable.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Sussex towns to upgrade 911 systems to meet NJ standards