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HISTORY OF CATAWBA COUNTY'S E911 COMMUNICATIONS CENTER | |
The E911 Communications Center is currently located on the first floor of the Catawba County Justice Center in Newton, North Carolina, and has been there since it opened in April 1980. The Justice Center facility also contains teh Sheriff's Department, Records Division, Register of Deeds, Clerk of Courts, the four Courtrooms, the Newton Dentetion Center, the DA's Office, Adult and Juvenile Probation Offices,  Repay Offices, Magistrate's Office, Judges' Chambers, the Jury Assembly Office, and the Emergency Operations Center. Throughout the past several years, the Communications Center has transitioned from a division of the Sheriff's Department to a division of the County's Technology Department. The division, led by an Administrator, reports directly to the County Chief Information Officer. The Communications Center has a total of 40 employees as of FY 2006/07. Twenty four are full time. This includes the Administrator, an Administrative Assistant, and 22 full-time Radio Telecommunicators (dispatchers). The Communications Center has 16 part-time employees on staff, all of which function as Radio Telecommunicators. The Communications Center staff works a shift schedule divided into three 8 hour shifts to allow for 24-hour coverage during the week and weekends. The shift schedule consist of five person shifts for 1st shift, five person for 2nd shift, and four person for 3rd shift. The Communications Center utilizes seven Motorola Centrecom Elite consoles, seven Positron IAP telephone sets, VisionAir CAD, and Positron's PowerMap with 42" or 30" plasma displays for Phase II mapping technology. These workstations allow the telecommunicators to receive and locate incoming calls for both emergency and non-emergency purposes, effectively communicate with the appropiate Public Safety staff through radio communications, and determine the best squad or Public Safety entity to  dispatch to the scene according to need and proximity.As the county's population has grown, so has the need for Public Safety services, and consquently, the call volume of the Communications Center has grown. To accommodate this growth, the advances in technology, and to provide effective service to citizens, the center had to grow. This expansion has included the upgrades in technology that didn't exist when the Communications Center was opened. In addition, when the Justice Center first opened, the Communications Center has two telecommunicators per shift and working from two consoles (a total of 10 telecommunicators). Even today, the staff of 24 faces many new challenges. It is imperative that Catawba County E911 continues to update technology to ensure the safety of the citizens now and in the future. |
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