PRINCETON: Computer upgrade for dispatchers

By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
   To consolidate two police department dispatching systems into one modern system, the new Princeton will be purchasing new software for computer-aided dispatch and examining the upgrading of other necessities, such as the radio tower.
   At the Public Safety Subcommittee of the Transition Task Force meeting this week there was discussion and a recommendation of spending more than $103,000 for new computer-aided dispatch with an electronic records management system and oversight of the hardware and software upgrades.
   Computer-aided dispatch is an internal system that acts an information clearinghouse, enabling the dispatcher to enter information collected from callers, such as names, what the emergency is and location of the problem. A second part of the program generates police records. A third component keeps track of the officers, their daily assignments and what cars they are in.
   ”What the CAD allows the dispatcher to do is tie all the information together and get the right car to the situation,” said Sgt. Michael Cifelli. “A summary of the situation is captured in the CAD as a blotter entry.”
   The current borough and township CAD systems do not have caller identification capability and all that information needs to be entered manually by the dispatcher.
   LawSoft’s software captures the vital information such as caller address, phone number and automatically uploads it into the dispatch system and sends out to officers out on the road in their cars. This will save the dispatchers time and reduce human errors that could be made when the dispatchers enter manual information.
   It will also help the dispatchers select the car on the street that is closest to call by maintaining a GPS record that can be monitored by the dispatchers of all officers on the road.
   ”The new system is really the technological brain of the department,” said Capt. Nick Sutter. “This system has greater capabilities than both our systems currently have at economical price.”
   When a call is complete, all the information will be sent to the records management portion of the software. Police officer’s reports will become paperless and be managed electronically with the new system. Both departments currently have paper systems.
   A third feature of the software is the ability for it to integrate with all of the software systems such as evidence logging, Division of Motor Vehicle information and provide mobile access to all the department information while on the road.
   ”Basically the officer can access all integral parts of the software system from the car,” said Capt. Sutter. “That keeps the officer on the road.”
   Neither department currently has this type of integrated system.
   ”We have to access a bunch of different systems from a bunch of different places,” said Capt. Sutter. “Most of it has to be done from in the building. We can access some motor vehicle from the car, but not to this extent. It gives you everything at your fingertips and it’s a benefit to the department and the officer on the street, it’s cutting edge technology.”
   All of the current information and records from both departments will be able to be integrated into one system that can be accessed with the new software. This service is included in the purchase price, said Capt. Sutter.
   The borough and township have more than 40,000 calls for service per year combined and each one generates a record and supporting documentation. The borough’s current software was purchased in 2002.
   LawSoft, a Bloomingdale-based company was the recommended choice after the discussion of quotes that varied in price, some up to $500,000.
   The cost of the new computer-aided dispatch software $103,276 by NJ Company Lawsoft.
   Annual maintenance costs are included and run about 15 percent of the system’s purchase price; both departments pay these annual fees on their individual systems. The fees are included for the first year and then will be levied afterward.
   ”LawSoft is a newer company, he’s out hustling,” said Borough Chief David Dudeck, when asked why LawSoft’s bid was so much lower than the others on June 19. “For what’s out there, that is very cheap.”
   LawSoft has been in business since 2003.
   ”It’s completely comparable to the other systems we looked at,” said Capt. Sutter. “It’s a company created by a police officer that understands the needs we have on the street.”
   The fact that the company is New Jersey based was a selling point, said Township Acting Chief Chris Morgan. “The other companies were out west, so if you need that support, you’re doing it over the phone, trying to remote in or they have to fly out here,” he said. “All service would be immediate here, within an hour.”
   LawSoft provided an on-site demonstration of the records management software on June 18 and police employees went and looked at the company’s work in other towns, said Chief Dudeck.
   Acting Chief Morgan said many other towns give the company good reviews.
   Lawsoft can implement their services in two months, said Curt Berry, who is the civilian supervisor of communications in the township. Other companies had much longer lead times.
   ”This system is an improvement from what we have in the township,” said Acting Chief Chris Morgan.
   The commuter aided dispatch will be in place by January and whomever installs the new 9-1-1 dispatch system will be involved with contractor doing the technology upgrades.
   The company hoping to do the upgrades for the consolidated system and new technology is Cranbury-based iXP.
   A project manager was proposed by iXP to oversee all the issues that would need looked after as the township facility is upgraded. “(It would be important for the person) have the experience to do in a live environment,” said Lawrence Consalvos, president and chief operating officer.
   iXP’s projected hourly rate for the project manager is $190 per hour and the company management is open to a not to exceed or a fixed price.
   iXP is still recommending using the borough site for dispatch because of its growth capacity, especially for regionalization and the potential of using the township as a back up facility. Upgrading the borough site would have been similar spending with minimal increases. “We feel it would be best to invest those dollars into a new facility and give the community a backup,” said Mr. Consalvos.
   There is still interest in a regional dispatch, said Mr. Consalvos. There is a meeting of several municipalities on July 6 to discuss the issue.
   ”I don’t know what it means that the borough facility is off the table,” said Mr. Consalvos. “It means there may be another potential site in another community.”
   A regional dispatch center could be made up of an authority or subscriber relationships with a fee to join and per incident fee. The easiest way would be to have Princeton be the prime agency and everyone else join, said Mr. Consalvos. Could be government run or privatized; privatized model would provide more savings.
   iXP has not submitted specific costs yet because a plan for modification and enhancement of police dispatching in the new municipality has not been agreed upon yet, said Mr. Consalvos.