BY JOSH DAVIDSON
Staff Writer
JOSH DAVIDSON Carin Spragg, a dispatcher with the Matawan Borough Police Department, works with the department’s new communications system March 5.
MATAWAN — A new computerized dispatching system is expected to speed up response times for local police.
The borough police department’s new Motorola Centracon program Elite Dispatch was installed by Allcomm, Wall, at the borough police station March 2.
"We’re going to cut down our response time because we can get information to [police] faster," said Carin Spragg, a borough dispatcher. "If they’re getting the signal faster and clearer, then it makes it easier for them to respond."
Since using the system, Spragg said she has not had to ask anyone to repeat themselves on the radio. Police officers will be contacted through text messaging directly through the system in the future.
The department started looking into replacing its old, outdated system in May, Police Chief William W. Toomer said. The new system cost about $32,000, Councilman Paul Buccellato said. It runs on a computer separate from the police records’ database.
The borough has four full-time and two part-time dispatchers, police Capt. Robert McGowan said.
"Basically, what we’re doing is just asking the dispatchers, as they work through their shifts, to note what they want to change, and we will accommodate them if it is possible," he said.
The previous dispatching system, which was over 25 years old, was not working at optimum power, McGowan said.
"There was such a small amount of power going out that, at some points, the officers were having problems communicating in different parts of town," he said.
With the new system, police can communicate more clearly, McGowan said.
The new dispatching console is located at the police department’s front desk. Dispatchers can now communicate with many area departments with a single touch on a monitor screen. It can also control the station’s doors from it.
The borough can now communicate with the first aid squad, and the police, fire, water and public works departments, as well as the state police. The separate departments’ monitoring volumes can all be set to levels chosen by the dispatcher.
The system can also provide access to other county municipalities, such as Keyport or Aberdeen. The system also keeps track of previous calls.
It takes just a few minutes to learn how to use the Elite Dispatch program, McGowan said, allowing for more time to train how to handle different types of calls, Spragg said.
"This is much more convenient," said Andrew Adell, who is training to be a borough dispatcher.
The new system saves dispatchers time at the station and officers time on the road, McGowan said.