FARMINGTON — Franklin County commissioners heard a presentation Tuesday on a computer-aided dispatch program that enhances record-keeping and security for those involved in emergency situations.
Commissioners voted in March 2009 to join with other entities to pursue grants to upgrade the county emergency dispatching computer software and records-management system.
They had a presentation on Information Management Corp.’s software program and the need for such a program at the Franklin County dispatch center.
However, funding has been an obstacle.
Franklin County Emergency Agency Director Tim Hardy held a Homeland Security grant meeting Tuesday that focused on multi-sharing of computer aided dispatch equipment.
Somerset County Telecommunications Director Michael Smith and information technology specialists Peter Smith and Steven Damren demonstrated how Somerset’s program works, with the help of Carrabassett Valley dispatcher C. L. Folsom.
Dispatchers type in the information as it comes in through a caller and it is dispersed to emergency providers responding to an incident.
Several agencies in the county already have the system that they bought through a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant a few years ago including Jay, Carrabassett Valley, Rangeley and University of Maine at Farmington. Androscoggin County agencies also have the program and about half of Oxford County.
Farmington Police Department and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department do not have the IMC program. Instead they use a program installed in 1992 that is antiquated, Farmington police Chief Jack Peck said.
Somerset County and four towns the county dispatches for use the IMC program.
Peter Smith said the system is locked down very tight and controls access to the Internet system. Some information is confidential and unable to be seen by others. It would be up to the agency what information would be shared.
IMC is just one of many vendors that supply software for law enforcement, UMF police Chief Ted Blais said.
If a call comes in for a bad accident, information dispatchers type in also available to the police, fire departments and ambulance services, he said.
Michael Smith recommended that whatever system the county and other agencies decide on, it should be compatible with other programs already in place to share information.
Carrabassett Valley Police Chief Scott Nichols said what he finds helpful is that if he has someone who is acting up, he can check with other law enforcement agencies that have the program to see if they’ve had similar problems with that particular person.
It helps to see a pattern, Nichols said, and gain information.
Police can access information through cruiser laptops as well as at a police station. Anyone on the system at the same time can see what’s going down in another agency and if they need help.
In Somerset County, police using the system can see who is booked every day in the Somerset County Jail but not who is currently in jail, Peter Smith said. Booking pictures of the person are also available.
Farmington police Sgt. Shane Cote said that if Farmington had the IMC system when a UMF student was robbed, he could have looked up red cars with loud exhausts to see if there had been any stopped recently.
Instead, he mentioned the information to another officer and that officer just happened to have previously stopped the vehicle, which led to solving the crime, Cote said.
The system is pretty functional and lets a user see what is going on, Michael Smith said.
The hardest thing a dispatcher has to get used to, he said, is getting rid of pen and paper. Dispatchers at his center do all direct entry of information.
“It cuts down on a lot of duplicate entries made,” Smith said.
“This also takes out a lot of human error,” Folsom said.
Instead of information having to be written over and over, he said, the information is entered once.
The Somerset County technology team has built an infrastructure and would be willing to share their services and expertise, Peter Smith said.
“We need to partner with somebody,” Smith said.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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