The Communications Catastrophe

[Unregistered]

The problems in Communications is worse than anyone could believe. People are being dispatched to addresses in the wrong cities.

The hubs are a mess. Dispatchers are not allowed t use bathrooms and there is no leadership or support. A walk out over work conditions was planned, but called off after employees were advised that could be crime, like the air traffic controllers.

Something is about to happen.

[Unregistered]

Heard county commissioners Wexler, LaMarca and Holness will pay site visits to the hubs, with the media, due to complaints from so many employees and the unions.

Total breakdown of operations and no leadership.

[Unregistered]

t must be said. Plantation and Coral Springs were right and we were wrong when we encouraged their city leaders — with all the might of our keyboards — to join Broward County's new regional 911 emergency response system and end the scourge of dropped or delayed calls.

As it turns out, the emergency response times in those two cities, according to their leaders, have been better than in the county's.

Meanwhile, as recently reported by Sun Sentinel reporters Brittany Wallman and Linda Trischitta, the county's new regional dispatch system not infrequently struggles to connect panicked callers with the emergency help they need.

During the first nine months of the county's regional 911 system, the Sun Sentinel's investigation found dispatchers sometimes sent first responders to the wrong addresses and the wrong city; that the hand-held radio system used by police and fire has experienced dangerous failures; and that during the busiest hour of the day, dispatchers have yet to meet a monthly standard of answering 90 percent of calls within 10 seconds.

Broward citizens deserve better. We demand better.
cComments

@Public Safety Telecommunicator county = won't pay more than the minimum. County= 911 is the equivalent to calling fpl County=over paid clueless morons
dirtyyou
at 4:39 PM July 29, 2015

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Sure, the new system has had some success. It has reduced the number of call transfers, the problem it was created to solve. Before, panicked cellphone users sometimes were transferred two and three times before they finally reached a dispatcher in the right city. Sometimes, their calls were dropped. Always, their stories were chilling.

Still, it's insufficient to herald that the new system answers 90 percent of emergency calls within 10 seconds. That's like saying an 11-inch ruler is close enough. And with 911 calls, we're talking about people's lives.

Though fewer than 1 percent of the 1.4 million calls have drawn complaints so far this year, we're still potentially talking about 14,000 complaints.

The Broward Sheriff's Office, which has contracted to run the system, should have anticipated the problems that have surfaced during the transition to a regional dispatch system.

Now, without delay, BSO must better train its dispatchers. This includes better training on:

• the geography of our communities, including which cities have streets with common names and which landmarks are associated with which bodies of water.

• how to gather the essential information needed by paramedics to ensure the best outcomes.

• the protocols for when to call local law enforcement agencies, along with emergency medical personnel.

It's also jaw-dropping to learn that the dispatch radio system for police and fire remains hit-or-miss.

"These ongoing problems (outages and static) have been and continue to be a hindrance to officer and public safety," wrote Wilton Manors Police Chief Paul O'Connell in a letter to Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry, on behalf of the Broward County Chiefs of Police Association.

Turns out the radios are old and hard to repair. Rick Carpani, who oversees the county's communications and technology office, told our reporters that the Motorola radio system is at the "end of life," a problem known before the regional system began.

Carpani said he expects a new radio system to be tested in 2018. What? 2018? How is it possible that more than a decade after our nation's worst terrorist attack, a proper radio system remains so far away? Given the federal grants that have been available, the tax increases that have been imposed and the record-high revenues now anticipated by the county and its cities, it is imperative that regional leaders come together and make solving the radio problem Job One.

Like most of you, this editorial board was a big supporter of a regional emergency dispatch system. That is why we criticized Plantation and Coral Springs for refusing to join. At the time, their mayors sounded parochial and protective of city jobs. But they also said they wanted to first see how the new system worked. On that measure, they were right to proceed with caution.

Today, Broward has a new regional system that may keep calls from getting dropped, delayed or misdirected, but it lacks the safety-net oversight needed to address ill-equipped dispatchers and age-old radios.

Upon their return from an extended summer vacation, Broward commissioners face no greater issue than the failings of the county's emergency response system.

Let them be motivated by the cries of a caller whose dispatcher sent paramedics to the wrong address:

"Why are they not here already?"

[Unregistered]

Easy answer, the man wants body cams, everything else is irrelevant. Get your priorities straight, being able to respond to the call is less important than the cameras...

[Unregistered]

If any dispatcher want to leave don't apply to Aventura. They have it bad too. There is no leadership, support, or union. The manager will not address any issues and if the dispatchers go over him it is insubordination.

[Unregistered]

The Communications unit is under former Fort Lauderdale Israel buddy Bob Pusins.
That should say it all.

[Unregistered]

The Communications unit is under former Fort Lauderdale Israel buddy Bob Pusins.
That should say it all.

Pusins is distracted by having to handle to many divisions. He is past his prime and doesn't think we are important enough for his attention to the problems we have in communications. The old fart need to dedicate 100 percent of this time to communications.

[Unregistered]

Communications dispatchers were informed they would have their hours extended, but will not get OT, and they must accept comp time instead.

There is a collapse in this department. We can't even use the restrooms. Please, someone, let the sheriff know about these third world conditions.

Some of us have been relocated to the public safety building and told to keep quiet about it. Its really bad.

[Unregistered]

Communications dispatchers were informed they would have their hours extended, but will not get OT, and they must accept comp time instead.

There is a collapse in this department. We can't even use the restrooms. Please, someone, let the sheriff know about these third world conditions.

Some of us have been relocated to the public safety building and told to keep quiet about it. Its really bad.

What?!

This is not legal and will end up costing the agency big time.

[Unregistered]

Communications dispatchers were informed they would have their hours extended, but will not get OT, and they must accept comp time instead.

There is a collapse in this department. We can't even use the restrooms. Please, someone, let the sheriff know about these third world conditions.

Some of us have been relocated to the public safety building and told to keep quiet about it. Its really bad.

Ok. You guys have a union and never hesitated to file complaints. So. Why the crying on here and not filing a grievance???