Centers Merge, Problems Revealed

The merger of three Ramsey County (Minn.) public safety comm centers last year has created problems, and now a very long, two-part story in the St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper lays out the issues and the comm center dispatchers’ complaints. The article says that equipment, staffing and training problems have created situations that puts the public at risk. The reporter talked to several sources at the center who said the CAD software has glitches, staffing is not adequate to handle the incoming load of telephone calls, and that some dispatchers haven’t been adequately trained. The center was formed last October when the Ramsey County sheriff, Maplewood and St. Paul public safety comm centers merged. The new $32 million operation now handles all of Ramsey County except one community. Read Part 1 of the story here, then move on to Part 2 here.