What to Look for in a Computer Aided Dispatch System

Computer aided dispatch (CAD) software is the starting point for every 911 call. But what sets a modern CAD system apart? How does it impact telecommunicators, CAD administrators, first responders, and the communities they serve?

Tyler Technologies' public safety team spent some time talking with Patrick Bugg and Kim Clark of the Paducah, Kentucky, police department about what it takes to make a strong CAD solution and why it makes a difference in their agency and communities. Read the Q&A below.

Please share your public safety background.

BUGG: I'm a telecommunicator and night shift supervisor with the Paducah Police Department, Communications Services Division. I've been with Paducah PD since 2020, but I've been dispatching since 2016. I also have experience as an EMT.

CLARK: I've been a public safety professional for more than 30 years, mostly on the dispatch side. I even started a 911 center from scratch in a small town of about 40,000 people. Up until recently, I was the Emergency Communications Manager with the Paducah Police Department.

What makes a solid computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system so important to your agency?

CLARK: CAD is our meat and potatoes. It's how we begin and end every transaction, every day. The job of a telecommunicator or a 911 dispatcher is not an easy job to do, but having a reliable CAD system makes all the difference. It really can mean the difference between life and death for both our responders and our residents.

I've worked in situations where the CAD crashes every other day. With Enterprise CAD, one thing we don't have to think about is how our system is going to work. We can depend on it. It's not going to crash. We're able to get responders on a scene quicker, determine what is going on quicker, and we're able to resolve the situation quicker.

What's something telecommunicators and dispatchers look for in a CAD system?

CLARK: A good CAD system needs to be intuitive. All the modules and elements should work together seamlessly.

When we're responding to an emergency, time is of the essence. I don't have time to think about how to enter a call for service. I don't have time to switch between programs and screens. And that's one of the things I love about our CAD system. It's user-friendly, it's easy to learn, and it's consistent across the different modules. I can focus on collecting information, asking questions, and getting first responders where they need to be.

BUGG: I would say one of the key elements I look for in a solid CAD system is functionality. I've used other CAD solutions at my previous employer, as well as recently when I was filling in at a neighboring agency. I rely on some of the more advanced features for efficiency, and it was challenging to go back to a system that didn't have them.

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You mentioned the importance of a CAD solution offering advanced functionality with all the pieces working together seamlessly. Can you share an example of what that looks like day-to-day?

CLARK: A good CAD system is a gap-filler — it helps connect the dots between the different pieces of an effective emergency response.

For example, when the fire pre-plan information can be accessed directly from within CAD, that’s connecting the dots for us. We had a tornado hit in Paducah in March, and immediately following that, one of the fire chiefs reached out and said, 'Hey, can we start collecting tornado shelter information in CAD?' That way, if we're clearing an area where a tornado has hit, we'll know there's a shelter in the basement of a home and we'll know where to look for survivors.

Our CAD solution confirms addressees instantly because it verifies based on GIS data. It allows us to dispatch quickly because we can use unit recommendations to determine the closest unit. It gives us visibility by showing us the responding units in real time. It allows us to comfort the caller and say with certainty that we do have units on the way and they'll be there shortly. Then, we can see when the unit has arrived on scene and switch gears. It allows us to do a lot in a very short period of time because of how seamlessly you can move about in the different elements of CAD.

BUGG: For me, a couple of recent examples come to mind that highlight the day-to-day impact of what it means to have a CAD system work the way dispatchers want it to work.

National Crime Information Center (NCIC) data is integrated into CAD, so when I enter a vehicle plate or a person into the CAD, it automatically brings back that NCIC return for me. We recently acquired license plate readers (LPRs) that hang over two of our busiest intersections and scan for things like stolen vehicles and wanted persons. There was a felony theft that occurred in Missouri, and a local agency entered the vehicle information into NCIC. When that vehicle passed by one of our LPRs, we were notified immediately.

Because CAD allows us to create custom call types and custom addresses, we quickly identified which camera the wanted vehicle passed underneath, entered “LPR1” as the address, selected “LPR” as the call type, and started documenting. Then, we're able to use Enterprise Fire Field Mobile and the automatic vehicle location (AVL) on the officer's vehicles, check our real-time map in CAD, and see who’s in the area to dispatch. Like Kim said, it’s possible because all of the integrations and modules work together seamlessly. In this case, we really needed every piece here to work together inside CAD — the NCIC integration, LPRs, mobile applications, and AVL.

The integration with Next Generation 911 (NG911) technology is significant, too. Being able to pinpoint a caller’s exact location has come into play many times. The lost hunter unsure of his exact location; the man following his stolen truck on a motorcycle; the woman who called 911 and left the line open while being held against her will in a moving vehicle. We were able to get responders directly to these people because Enterprise CAD integrates with the caller location functionality.

When working with a robust CAD solution, what are some additional features or functionalities that have made a significant impact on your workflow?

BUGG: Enterprise CAD is very customizable. I already mentioned the custom call types and common name addresses for the LPRs — that’s been very helpful. I also like the ability to create custom templates. Depending on what I'm doing that day, it may benefit me to have different parts of the CAD system on different parts of my screen, like cleared call search or global subject search, and I'm able to totally customize that. I have a custom template for law, fire, and call-taking depending on what I'm working that day. The setup that I like might be completely different from the person sitting next to me, but it's customizable for each user.

The ability to assign multiple calls to one incident is also really helpful. We had an active shooter situation and received more than 20 calls in five minutes. Because we could associate all of those calls together, we were able to get a clearer picture of what was going on and the scope of the situation.

CLARK: At Paducah, we dispatched for a fire agency outside of our county, which means geofencing is extremely important to us. The agency falls outside of our map, but our CAD system administrator was able to create a geofence outside of our county so we could dispatch for them effectively. We're able to see their units and see the trucks moving, which gave us unparalleled situational awareness as telecommunicators, as we had insight into what was happening in this area. We also used automatic status updates based on the geofence, so, when the truck enters the station, it puts them in quarters; when it leaves the station, it puts them out of quarters. So that's another example of advanced functionality that has been impactful.

Looking for a CAD system that can keep up with a complex, modern agency? Learn more about Tyler Technologies’ Enterprise CAD, Enterprise Fire Field Mobile, and the full suite of Enterprise Public Safety solutions.