Policy Doesn’t Prohibit Comm Center Movies

The policy and procedure manual for the Colorado State Patrol comm center doesn’t prohibit dispatchers from bringing their personal laptops to work, nor does it forbid watching movies or playing games on the laptops. The issue of dispatcher distractions was raised earlier this month when a 911 caller reported a deer vs. car accident. A trooper wasn’t dispatched for nine minutes, and before the trooper arrived a second vehicle swerved to avoid the disabled vehicle, crashed and killed two persons. The State Patrol policy does prohibit “the use of the Internet except for business related inquiries.” However, other uses of personal laptops is permitted. The three State Patrol dispatchers who handled the incident are on paid leave during an investigation. Read more here, and for comparison, download (pdf) the El Paso County (NM) Sheriff’s comm center policy here.