MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Dispatch center in Mayville will now be the hub for dispatching New York State Police to emergency calls.
The official transfer will start on Monday.
“The partnership with the New York State Police is important for efficiencies in dispatching the closest available unit to emergencies,” said Sheriff Joseph Gerace today when making the announcement. The troopers have two barrack locations in the county. They will retain emergency phones at both of these in Ellicott, near Jamestown and in Fredonia, in case someone pulls into the locations and has an emergency.
NYS Police Captain Edward Kennedy said he believes the move will increase response times for patrols as it will eliminate the use of officers as dispatcher.
Dispatchers at the county center already dispatch the sheriff’s deputies, the city of Jamestown police and fire, town of Ellicott, Busti, Carroll and Chautauqua Institution. They also provide dispatch radio service to 41 of the 42 fire companies in Chautauqua County.
The sheriff’s office received a $6 million grant to upgrade radio services at the Mayville location. The changes and upgrades are expected to be complete in May 2015.
“Our dispatchers have the highest level of training available and our center is in compliance with the most stringent standards set in New York State,” said Sheriff Gerace. He said that the dispatchers have important “pre-arrival” training to help callers until police or first responders get to the scene.
The dispatchers also use a new confidential system to look up information about callers. People can provide information to the system to aid responders with their own profile or information about residents of their household.
The sheriff said all residents with internet are encouraged to file a profile at http://www.smart911.com to provide the dispatchers with important information in the event of an emergency.
The official transfer will start on Monday.
“The partnership with the New York State Police is important for efficiencies in dispatching the closest available unit to emergencies,” said Sheriff Joseph Gerace today when making the announcement. The troopers have two barrack locations in the county. They will retain emergency phones at both of these in Ellicott, near Jamestown and in Fredonia, in case someone pulls into the locations and has an emergency.
NYS Police Captain Edward Kennedy said he believes the move will increase response times for patrols as it will eliminate the use of officers as dispatcher.
Dispatchers at the county center already dispatch the sheriff’s deputies, the city of Jamestown police and fire, town of Ellicott, Busti, Carroll and Chautauqua Institution. They also provide dispatch radio service to 41 of the 42 fire companies in Chautauqua County.
The sheriff’s office received a $6 million grant to upgrade radio services at the Mayville location. The changes and upgrades are expected to be complete in May 2015.
“Our dispatchers have the highest level of training available and our center is in compliance with the most stringent standards set in New York State,” said Sheriff Gerace. He said that the dispatchers have important “pre-arrival” training to help callers until police or first responders get to the scene.
The dispatchers also use a new confidential system to look up information about callers. People can provide information to the system to aid responders with their own profile or information about residents of their household.
The sheriff said all residents with internet are encouraged to file a profile at http://www.smart911.com to provide the dispatchers with important information in the event of an emergency.