SLO Sheriff unveils new dispatch center
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department unveiled its new dispatch center Monday. It is the only law enforcement agency in the country to have the technology.
If there were a major event, like law enforcement situation or a natural disaster, dispatchers can take all of the agencies and consolidate them so communication is better.
Also, personnel can now use their smartphones as two-way radios from anywhere there is cellphone reception.
Both of these technologies are new to the department and are designed to help better serve people in the community.
“What we were really seeking was really solid reliable communication and then ultimately the expanded use that this system provided us that you know just wasn’t out there,” said Sheriff Ian Parkinson.
The center has been in use since the end of May and Parkinson said it has worked flawlessly.
It cost about half a million dollars to purchase and install. The sheriff’s office was able to use money left over from salary savings from last year, so no additional cost to taxpayers.
The companies who designed the system, Raytheon and Twisted Pair Solutions, said even though the sheriff’s department is the first agency in the country to purchase the technology, several others are thinking about following suit.
