Case Study: Greene County 911
- POPULATION 47,000
- CLIENT SINCE 2018
- SOLUTIONS USED Enterprise CAD
Located 150 miles north of Manhattan, Greene County covers approximately 700 square miles in the state of New York. Greene County is also home to two major ski resorts, which brings in many tourists year-round. Because of the mountainous terrain in the county, it’s a popular area to explore, camp, hike, among many other outdoor activities.
Greene County 911 dispatches for 11 police departments, 27 fire departments, and 12 EMS departments. The emergency services center has 15 full time dispatchers covering roughly 83,000 calls for service each year.
It’s been the best thing that we’ve done in many, many years. It’s a breath of fresh air to actually have a system that works.
Randy Ormerod
Deputy Director of Emergency Services for Greene County
CHALLENGE
Greene County 911 was at the end of life with their old computer aided dispatch (CAD) system. They were dealing with a high volume of calls, unsupported software, and no mobile or GIS capabilities.
The 911 center experienced delays when working with other counties to provide emergency services to the public. Sharing information and communicating quickly with other dispatch centers was difficult.
They also struggled with communication between dispatchers and first responders, describing it as a “one-way street.” Without mobile capabilities, first responders relied on dispatchers for all information. This resulted in numerous phone calls between first responders and dispatchers for all questions and clarifications.
SOLUTION
Greene County 911 switched to Enterprise CAD. They upgraded their system in 2020 to allow for CAD-to-CAD communication with neighboring Ulster County.
It’s mind blowing technology and we have advanced so much in three years here in Greene County that I would never have thought that I would see anything like this. From CAD to radios, to towers, to phones, to recorders. This place has changed in three years. It’s totally mind blowing to me.
Neil Kellegher
911 Systems Administrator for Greene County 911
RESULTS
By implementing Enterprise CAD, Greene County Emergency Services experienced the following benefits:
- Enterprise CAD provided mobile capabilities, allowing agencies to receive critical information from dispatchers when on-the-go
- Agencies can run data from their vehicles whenever needed
- Improved communication
- Sensitive information is no longer shared over the radio
- First responders and dispatchers can communicate without making a phone call
- Enhanced mapping capabilities
- Dispatchers can see where all mobile units are located in real-time, giving them the ability to identify the closest crew to an emergency call
- First responders in the field can view where other units are located and experience improved situational awareness
- Dispatchers are performing five to ten less keystrokes during every radio transmission reducing data input time tenfold
- This improvement in functionality is provided by the command line that’s built into CAD.
- The ability to respond to dual-county emergencies has been cut in half as a result of CAD-to-CAD interoperability
- Both Greene County and Ulster County can easily and quickly share information, and that collaboration allows them to respond to calls that may be difficult to track due to poor cellphone service in the area.
- The moment a call comes in, a process begins in CAD allowing both counties to see critical information, even if the phone call fails.