By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Every emergency responding agency in Wood County has signed onto a new communications system that should make information available faster, keep the air waves open, and prevent human errors.
The new Computer Aided Dispatch system at the Wood County Sheriff’s Office, Records Management System and Jail Management System are designed to automatically share information between emergency responders.
“This is the first project that I am aware of that we have every first responder in the county on board,” said Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn.
That includes 48 police, fire and EMS services in every city, village, township and college in the county. The entire system costs $3.4 million, with $1 million coming from the state, and the rest from the American Rescue Plan Act through the Wood County Commissioners. That amount covers the initial expense and a five-year license – with no costs to the fire, police and EMS agencies.
Following are some of the ways the new system speeds up the communication process between agencies, according to Wasylyshyn and Doug Houtz, director of communications for the Wood County Sheriff’s Office:
- When a police department makes an arrest, the Wood County Jail is automatically notified, which speeds up the booking process and shortens the time before police officers can return to their communities.
- When an arrest is made, the history of the suspect is immediately made available to law enforcement.
- When police swipe a suspect’s driver’s license in their cruiser, the information can be sent electronically to the appropriate court.
- When fire departments respond to a call, the firefighters no longer have to radio the dispatcher that they are enroute and that they have arrived. All that is relayed automatically.
- When fire departments on a scene need mutual aid from other departments, the equipment needed can be immediately viewed by all other fire departments.
- The system has an automatic vehicle locator, so the location of all first responders is known.
- In incidents such as the Interstate 75 overpass being damaged by an oversized truck, information on assistance needed can be immediately shared with all emergency responders in the county.
- With many communities experiencing thefts of catalytic converters, this system would identify patterns and help build cases, the sheriff said.
“We’re all making arrests on catalytic converters right now,” Wasylyshyn said. “Knowledge is power. There is so much information sharing.”
With the new system, communication is automatic with fewer redundancies and less chance of errors, Houtz said.
But each department would remain autonomous. “They can still have their own identities,” the sheriff said.
“This is empowering law enforcement and everyone else to work better together,” Wasylyshyn said. “We’re all excited about it. It’s going to be great when it’s done.”
