CONSTRUCTION BEGINS AT STATION FOR NEW E-911

Aside from all the bustle which normally resounds within the walls of the Cape Girardeau Police Department, dispatchers this week have had to contend with the construction going on all around them.

Preparations are well underway for the installation of the new Emergency 911 system which is expected to be on line by the beginning of November. Most of the equipment is now standing stacked in boxes in the police station garage.

"I don't even know what's inside all of these boxes," said Juanita Henley, communications supervisor for the Cape Girardeau police. "The people from the company suggested we just leave it here in the boxes with the tags on it."

Aside from the equipment, the garage has room only for only the police motorcycles and the fishing boat currently being used for flood patrols.

Monday, the dispatch center will be moved upstairs to the training room for three to four weeks while construction continues and the new equipment is being installed.

Three tables will be set up in a U-formation with partitions set up around the periphery to allow officers and dispatchers alike a certain degree of normalcy.

On Thursday, a representative from the phone company ran temporary wires through the department and into the training room. They serve two 911-lines, two phone centers, direct phone lines to the fire department, two computer aided-dispatch terminals and the Department of Revenue computer record system and its printer.

Today, people from Motorola will make preparations to move the radio dispatch equipment upstairs as well.

"It's really not going to be too inconvenient," Henley said. "It's nice and cool up here, and if you shut the door it's pretty quiet."

While the dispatchers are upstairs, the station commander will be responsible for the switches that operate the jail door and the gas tank behind the building, and for watching the in-house video monitors.

The new system is far superior to the outdated equipment the department is currently using.

"Much of the equipment we have now is 17 years old," Henley said. "The new system is going to enable us to provide even better service for residents of the city."

The system automatically will display the street address or location of a 911 call to the department. New equipment also will allow dispatchers to play back calls to verify or clarify phone information for the street officers. It also will be able to play back departmental radio traffic, Henley said.

To fit all the new equipment into the existing space, a wall at the rear of the room will be removed, opening the area for a third dispatch position. Currently, there are two consoles for dispatchers in the communications center.

"We have purchased equipment for three dispatch stations," Henley explained. "The third position will be for emergency situations or for future growth purposes."

In addition to the expansion, the windows in the walls of the current dispatch center will be taken out and the walls will be sound-proofed.

"The prisoners make a lot of noise in the booking area," Henley said. "The new equipment will require the full concentration of the dispatcher distractions have to be filtered out."

A single window looking out into the main area of the department will remain at the front of the room.

Two video monitors will be placed on the wall near the window, giving dispatchers the ability to see most areas within and outside the building.

If the power goes out and the backup power system were to fail after the E911 system was on line, a manual card-dispatch system on a cart in the rear of the control room could be used.

The new system will be greatly reduced in size, Henley said. "Our dispatchers will each have one terminal and will be able to access all functions of the system with a mouse-hookup.

Dispatchers will also wear headsets they will use to radio officers on the street and to take phone calls.

A new recording system also will be in place. It uses smaller cassette-like tapes which can be used for up to three days, replacing the bulky 24-hour reels currently in use.

"We're going to have three to four weeks of bedlam around here," Henley said, "but in the end it's all going to be worth it. We'll survive."