911 consolidation could save city millions

[Curios George]

http://www.nbc-2.com/Global/story.asp?S=11113993

I think this is a good idea. It works out well for Marco Island PD.

With all of the money you will be saving you could afford to get your radars recalibrated...

[Paradise]

First comes dispatch then comes police services...

http://www.nbc-2.com/Global/story.asp?S=11113993

I think this is a good idea. It works out well for Marco Island PD.

With all of the money you will be saving you could afford to get your radars recalibrated...


you must work for CCSO to think this works well for MIPD. Ask Marco cops or residents and you will get another story. it costs more to keep separate services, but you get what you pay for. If you look for the cheapest option, you will get just that. Since MIPD has never had their own communications center, many do not know any better. But if you have even had the opportunity to deal with NPD's and CCSO's communications centers, you would most definitely know there is a difference.

If looking to save the most money possible is the intent, then maybe they will next look to disband the merry men and women of the NPD. First option is KR and the boyz in gray taking over, but as a government operation they also have to look to cut costs. nother option is outsource to a private company, I'm sure Port Royal Security wouldn't mind expanding their operation. If not Jimmy G. then maybe Pinkerton or Wackenhut would bid for the contract to replace NPD.

Then lets look into closing the Sheriff's jail operations and outsourcing to a private company. Collier inmates can be looked after by $8/hr guards and $8.25/hr supervisors instead of the higher paid certified correctional officers. It's good enough for the state DOC, so no reason for Collier County not to look into the money savings option.

Another money saving option, get rid of the City of Naples all together. Unincorporate and dissolve back into Collier County. What does it cost to run separate administrative functions like Human Resources, solid waste collection, City Council, etc.. Disband City Council and turn all decisions over to the County Commissioners, they do a fantastic job.

Why does the City of Naples keep it's own garbage trucks and staff. Why not close that operation and go with Waste Management, they already pick up garbage in the rest of the county and commercial locations within the city. Of course, residents would no longer get the same level of service they get from city workers. Right now the city worker goes up the driveway to the side of the house to retrieve the garbage. Imagine Naples residents having to actually bring their garbage cans to the curb on their own. But, if saving money is the one and only concern this is something which needs to be looked at.

The other reality is the residents expect a level of service from their municipal employees which the CCSO, Waste Management or another organization would not be able to deliver. The CCSO could never offer the level of attention NPD gives the residents of Naples. It's not meant as an insult to the CCSO in any way, it is just the reality. Waste Management will not give residents the level of service city workers give.

Having CCSO take over communications for Naples would maybe save money, but the level of service provided would not be the same. Again, no insult towards CCSO and their staff, just the reality of the situation.

[Curios George]

Just visiting. It is obvious that you have no work experience with any of these agencies and know very little about the actual operations of each department or their needs. Your ideas remind me of the same cost cutting rant that the “Productivity” committee produces which are full of suggestions which never have any merit.

MIPD has always had CCSO dispatch them and the working relationship is excellent. The biggest benefit is that communications between CCSO and MIPD have no delay. This means that if MIPD has a problem and needs CCSO the same dispatchers are aware of it and have already begun to send the resources. There is no 10 to 15 minute delay in getting the request or the usual miscommunication of what is actually needed for the request. Listening to MIPD on the radio and having the same information that CCSO has is the same as listening to another district on the CCSO radio. Communications are seamless, very effective, and timely which enhance officer safety!

On the other hand, NPD dispatch is not anything close to what CCSO is. Information that should be passed back and forth between the agencies is not done in a timely manner, gets taken out of context through the breakdown in communication procedures and is an officer safety concern! Here are a few examples:

1. Last week NPD had a bank robbery on US 41 in the middle of the day. It was first dispatched as a burglary alarm, then changed to another non-priority call and then changed again to who knows what. Meanwhile, NPD dispatch never called the alarm company to verify the alarm type, advised their officers that there was confusion with the intake of the call. This allowed the NPD officer to casually stroll into the bank, putting him and others at risk. To make matters worse NPD dispatch never bothered to call CCSO and let them know that a bank robbery had occurred to be passed out as a BOLO. To this day, no one knows that NPD had a bank robbery.
2. An NPD officer attempts to do a traffic stop and when he calls out on the radio he is told by their dispatcher to stand-by! Are you kidding me? A traffic stop is high priority radio traffic. Telling an officer to stand-by will get him killed and you will not have any of the information that is given during the stop to help identify his killer.
3. NPD officers can only listen to CCSO dispatch. They can not talk to CCSO dispatch because they have been blocked (For unknown reasons). The only way NPD officers can talk to CCSO officers is if they patch the channel. This is an officer safety issue! If a CCSO deputy needs to talk on NPD radio we can do it. Why can’t NPD talk on CCSO radio? If CCSO was responsible for dispatching NPD officers then this would not happen and officer safety would increase.
4. The breakdown in communication between NPD and CCSO is HORRIBLE. And it is only because the effective communications between MIPD and CCSO makes it so obvious that ther is a serious problem. Saving money would only be half of the benefits in consolidation

There are many more examples but those who work there or work with them have their own list to share.

Your security guard idea is also a waste of time and money. Security guards have no authority and all you will have is the Port Royal folk calling the security guards who will then call CCSO to come handle their complaint. For cutting costs you will not do a good job when all you do is add a middle man in the process.

I am not even going to address the $8.00 an hour jail thing… that is just ridiculous and if you would look at some of the other jail facilities in the state that has tried it, you would learn that you might have given away one problem but now you just became responsible for two more…

The city of Naples has their garbage man go to the side of the house to pick up the trash because that is the service level which the residents are paying for!! Waste management is cheaper because they do not have to get out of their truck, risk work related injuries and is providing a faster, more efficient way of collecting garbage. The residents of the city want it this way or they would contract with waste management.

Bottom line is this: consolidating the communications center is an excellent idea; it will save money and increase the safety and service level of NPD! If you still have a problem seeing this then do yourself a favor and do a ride-a-long with each agency. Listen to the dispatchers, officers and go visit inside the communications room. Don’t be surprised when you reach the CCSO communications center that you will be impressed at how effective they are. They already dispatch Fire, EMS, MIPD and CCSO for the county. To add NPD only makes sense resulting in only positive benefits for everyone involved.

But thanks for”Just Visiting”. It is always nice when we have an opportunity to educate the public at what we do and what we need.

Thanks for your support.

Just visiting. It is obvious that you have no work experience with any of these agencies and know very little about the actual operations of each department or their needs. Your ideas remind me of the same cost cutting rant that the “Productivity” committee produces which are full of suggestions which never have any merit.

MIPD has always had CCSO dispatch them and the working relationship is excellent. The biggest benefit is that communications between CCSO and MIPD have no delay. This means that if MIPD has a problem and needs CCSO the same dispatchers are aware of it and have already begun to send the resources. There is no 10 to 15 minute delay in getting the request or the usual miscommunication of what is actually needed for the request. Listening to MIPD on the radio and having the same information that CCSO has is the same as listening to another district on the CCSO radio. Communications are seamless, very effective, and timely which enhance officer safety!

On the other hand, NPD dispatch is not anything close to what CCSO is. Information that should be passed back and forth between the agencies is not done in a timely manner, gets taken out of context through the breakdown in communication procedures and is an officer safety concern! Here are a few examples:

1. Last week NPD had a bank robbery on US 41 in the middle of the day. It was first dispatched as a burglary alarm, then changed to another non-priority call and then changed again to who knows what. Meanwhile, NPD dispatch never called the alarm company to verify the alarm type, advised their officers that there was confusion with the intake of the call. This allowed the NPD officer to casually stroll into the bank, putting him and others at risk. To make matters worse NPD dispatch never bothered to call CCSO and let them know that a bank robbery had occurred to be passed out as a BOLO. To this day, no one knows that NPD had a bank robbery.
2. An NPD officer attempts to do a traffic stop and when he calls out on the radio he is told by their dispatcher to stand-by! Are you kidding me? A traffic stop is high priority radio traffic. Telling an officer to stand-by will get him killed and you will not have any of the information that is given during the stop to help identify his killer.
3. NPD officers can only listen to CCSO dispatch. They can not talk to CCSO dispatch because they have been blocked (For unknown reasons). The only way NPD officers can talk to CCSO officers is if they patch the channel. This is an officer safety issue! If a CCSO deputy needs to talk on NPD radio we can do it. Why can’t NPD talk on CCSO radio? If CCSO was responsible for dispatching NPD officers then this would not happen and officer safety would increase.
4. The breakdown in communication between NPD and CCSO is HORRIBLE. And it is only because the effective communications between MIPD and CCSO makes it so obvious that ther is a serious problem. Saving money would only be half of the benefits in consolidation

There are many more examples but those who work there or work with them have their own list to share.

Your security guard idea is also a waste of time and money. Security guards have no authority and all you will have is the Port Royal folk calling the security guards who will then call CCSO to come handle their complaint. For cutting costs you will not do a good job when all you do is add a middle man in the process.

I am not even going to address the $8.00 an hour jail thing… that is just ridiculous and if you would look at some of the other jail facilities in the state that has tried it, you would learn that you might have given away one problem but now you just became responsible for two more…

The city of Naples has their garbage man go to the side of the house to pick up the trash because that is the service level which the residents are paying for!! Waste management is cheaper because they do not have to get out of their truck, risk work related injuries and is providing a faster, more efficient way of collecting garbage. The residents of the city want it this way or they would contract with waste management.

Bottom line is this: consolidating the communications center is an excellent idea; it will save money and increase the safety and service level of NPD! If you still have a problem seeing this then do yourself a favor and do a ride-a-long with each agency. Listen to the dispatchers, officers and go visit inside the communications room. Don’t be surprised when you reach the CCSO communications center that you will be impressed at how effective they are. They already dispatch Fire, EMS, MIPD and CCSO for the county. To add NPD only makes sense resulting in only positive benefits for everyone involved.

But thanks for”Just Visiting”. It is always nice when we have an opportunity to educate the public at what we do and what we need.

Thanks for your support.


I owe you an apology, apparently my attempt at sarcastic humor was lost in translation. My suggestions were all meant as a joke, I am not actually suggesting those types of changes. I thought my point was clear that saving money should not always be the one and only priority. If you actually talk to some MIPD officers, which I have, you will find not all agree with your assumption that CCSO dispatching them is a good thing, and this is on top of the fact they have never had their own communications center.