March 7, 2024 |
Photo – Carbon County Communication Center – Bigfoot99 file photo
Sheriff Bakken explained why Carbon County needs a single emergency dispatch center.
In the beginning of this year, the Saratoga Police Department was suffering from a lack of dispatchers. To alleviate the problem, Saratoga Police Chief Mike Morris and Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken created a Memorandum of Understanding to allow dispatchers from the sheriff’s department to work out of Saratoga.
With the MOU in place, Chief Morris discovered that it would be more cost effective to allow the sheriff’s department to permanently take over dispatching duties for the Platte Valley. The deal would move all dispatching services into the sheriff’s office and allow Saratoga dispatchers to transfer to the county agency. The Saratoga town council is likely to soon agree to the compromise.
Speaking at the February 6th Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting, Sheriff Bakken said a single county-wide dispatching center is an inevitability.
Sheriff Bakken pointed to how emergency service calls made via cell phone could go to one of three dispatch centers in the county: the sheriff’s department, Rawlins, or Saratoga police departments. The sheriff said having multiple dispatching agencies has the potential to cause problems when transferring calls between jurisdictions.
Sheriff Bakken’s comments prompted a response from the Rawlins Police Department. In a written statement posted on February 13th, the Rawlins PD said, “Transferring calls between dispatch centers is common across the county, as local agencies receive emergency calls, which are transferred to state highway patrol and police agencies. We follow nationally accepted protocol to minimize repeated information and are not aware of dropped calls due to transfer.”
Sheriff Bakken responded two days later with a statement of his own. In his letter, the sheriff said he is conducting a feasibility study to determine if a single dispatch center will benefit the county. The sheriff said he will meet with representatives from counties that already utilize single emergency call centers.
Speaking at yesterday’s Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting, Sheriff Bakken said people are mistaken about his intentions. The sheriff said the county would not act as the sole manager of the proposed combined dispatch center. A joint powers board, made up of representatives from every law enforcement agency in the county, would be established to run the call center, said Sheriff Bakken.
Sheriff Bakken said he spoke to representatives from Sweetwater County who had useful advice on the formation of a county-wide call center. The sheriff said Sweetwater County’s dispatch center is something Carbon County should emulate.
Sheriff Bakken said he also met with Sheriff Aaron Appelhans from Albany County. Bakken said Sheriff Appelhans presented some ideas that Carbon County should avoid in its creation of a combined dispatch center.
Sheriff Bakken said a single county emergency call center would eliminate 911 dispatching errors. The sheriff said a recent mix-up between a Medicine Bow and Rawlins address, both having the same street name, cost valuable response time.
Sheriff Bakken said two deputies quickly recognized the mistake and responded to Medicine Bow. The sheriff said a combined dispatch center would prevent similar mistakes in the future.
Commissioner John Johnson said cell phone usage increases the possibility that the Rawlins Police Department will make more mistakes when dispatching 911 calls.
Commissioner Johnson said errors like that can potentially cost lives.
Commissioner Johnson said the county isn’t trying to take over towns’ abilities to police themselves. The commissioner said a combined dispatch center is simply the best way to protect public safety.
Sheriff Bakken said he agreed that the county shouldn’t single-handedly run the proposed emergency dispatch center. The sheriff said representatives from all participating agencies should sit on the call center’s board of directors.
Sheriff Bakken said he will continue researching the creation of a combined dispatch center. The sheriff said he would rather learn what works and what doesn’t before beginning the official process of bringing all emergency dispatching services under one roof.
