JACKSONVILLE — Police here aren’t letting a lightning bolt and more than $30,000 in communications repairs set them back. Wednesday morning saw the beginning of the latest and greatest in dispatch technology at Jacksonville’s Police Department, with the installation of a computer-aided dispatch system, also known as CAD.

And, according to Assistant Chief Bill Wineman and fire Chief Wade Buckner, the question isn’t what the new system can do; it’s a question of what it can’t do.

“With CAD, we get there faster, we get there safer, and we get there with more complete information,” Wineman said, referring to the idea that the new system will cut down on emergency response time while allowing responders instantaneous access across local, state and national databases that will help them have more information on the people and places they respond to.

That’s a big step for the department, which only just got back on its feet Monday after an Aug. 13 lightning storm fried half a dozen of its computers, a VHF radio and both of the consoles used in the 800 megahertz dispatching system.

A single step forward? Try the plural form, said Wineman.

“Many, many steps forward,” he said. “There’s really no way to grasp how much of an improvement this is until you see it in action.”

Dispatch

Before, Jacksonville police had one dispatcher responsible for answering all calls. When an emergency call came in, the dispatcher would have to dial out to police, fire and other emergency responders and vocally relay that call to them. Now, there will be two dispatchers at the police department who will answer fire and police emergencies. When a call comes in, the dispatchers simply push a button on one of the new monitors and all the information from the call is sent out instantaneously – as written data that pops up on the laptop screens of patrol officers and firefighters.

“It basically ties four or five computer systems into one,” said Buckner.

And all information really means all information, Wineman said. The new system has the ability to compile – within a matter of seconds – all local, state and national background records on the caller, statistical information like how many times emergency personnel have responded to the location, how far the location is from the nearest patrol car and how long – with traffic – it should take that car to get there.

“Basically, if you were having a problem at your house right now and called 911, (that information) would be sent instantly through CAD to the nearest patrol car, shaving two and half to three minutes off response time,” Wineman said.

In addition to saving time, the new system also will help emergency police and fire respond more safely to calls, Buckner said.

For example, firefighters responding to a medical call where the patient has a history of violence and domestic abuse can now decide whether to take police support along, and they can make the decision quickly.

“The dispatch will increase our safety … our efficiency,” he said.

Data storage

Wineman pointed to a three-foot-tall white plastic tub in the department’s work room. Until now, that bin was where all the written and typed dispatch logs have been kept – unorganized and almost impossible to pull accurate dispatch call stats from, according to police. In fact, The Star recently tried to get – and was denied – statistics on the number of times police have responded to incidents involving Jacksonville State University students who live off-campus. Thanks to the new system, which automatically sorts and stores every bit of information for every single call, it will be simple to pull stats like that, Wineman said.

“Records management will be much easier,” he said. “Everything will be stored.”

But how much did this dispatch system cost, and how did Jacksonville pay for it?

Although Wineman said the official cost of the system was “confidential” because of the contract the department signed with Southern Software, the company that makes it, he said it cost more than $90,000.

A $56,000 homeland security grant the city recently received covered the majority of the cost, and a state fire department tax paid for most of the rest. The final $3,800 came – unusually – from a local church. Faith Temple Christian Center wanted to raise money for a city agency in need and chose the Police Department. Church members presented the department with a check in a Tuesday afternoon ceremony.

The $90,000-and-up may seem like a lot to pay, but Wineman said it’s actually “a steal,” because the Jacksonville department is one of the first in the state to use the technology.

Translation? Jacksonville police got a huge discount because they’re a state guinea pig for the newest version of computer-aided dispatching, Wineman said.

Jennifer Meggs, president of the North Carolina-based company, said Jacksonville now joins Auburn and the University of Alabama at Birmingham as the few departments in Alabama that benefit from the high-tech program.

The University of South Alabama and the city of Clanton are planning to start the software program at their departments soon, Wineman said.

“So after we get ours up and running, they’ll see how it works and be going on (with CAD) after us,” he said. “We are a Southern Software test bed, and we get a big discount for that.”

Although there are other companies that offer computer-aided dispatch technology, Meggs said Southern Software has an edge over its competitors because of its highly trained support staff.

“We keep people on staff who were 911 dispatchers and know what they’re doing and understand the challenges dispatchers face,” she said.

Wineman said after the installation is complete, there will be scheduled training for dispatchers, officers and firefighters to learn how to use the new system. Buckner said the system will go live in mid-September.

“We are here to serve the public and … (that is) what CAD will help us do better,” Wineman said.

Contact Star Staff Writer Cameron Steele at 256-235-3562.