Grant funds improvements to countywide 911

NEW MADRID, Mo. - In a situation where seconds can mean the difference between life and death, a grant will help five Southeast Missouri counties improve the speed of their 911 response.

The Missouri 911 Service Board recently awarded New Madrid, Scott, Dunklin, Pemiscot and Stoddard counties a $2.3 million grant to upgrade their services.

New Madrid County’s 911 System is overseen by the New Madrid Police Department. According to New Madrid Assistant Police Chief Brandon Hanner, New Madrid County will receive approximately $400,000 of the grant funds.

“All of our 911 equipment was purchased in 2016. In the computer world, it is getting old,” Hanner said. “This is going to allow us to make some necessary updates and upgrades that will greatly enhance our capabilities.”

Hanner said New Madrid County will upgrade its three consoles, or answering points. This will include new computers, monitors, keyboards and software.

With the Next Generation 911 capabilities, Hanner said 911 personnel will be able to locate both landline and wireless callers more quickly and with greater certainty.

He explained currently a 911 call from a cell phone is routed to a 911 center based on what cell tower it connects to.

In some cases, Hanner said, a phone call from the north part of Sikeston may connect to a cell tower in New Madrid County. When the call is received and the New Madrid County 911 dispatcher determines it is for the Scott County 911, the call must then be transferred to the other agency

The new NG911 system will triangulate the position of the phone, determine what county it is located in then direct the call to the proper 911 center, he said.

“Locating callers is already a difficult task but the grant is going to help us move into the next generation 911 world which will help greatly,” Hanner said. “We will be able to locate callers faster, with greater certainty and be better able to get them the appropriate help they need in less time. That is our goal to get them help as soon as we can.”

Also the NG911 will allow a caller to text in instances where a caller can’t speak or is attempting to quietly alert 911 of an emergency.

Hanner estimated the system would be operational sometime next year.

The assistant chief added his thanks to the surrounding counties for working together to receive the grant and to the Missouri 911 Service Board for awarding them the funds.

“As everyone knows money is hard to come by. Any opportunity that we have where we can access grant funds and save our local taxpayer dollars we are going to try to take advantage of that,” Hanner said. “This is a lot of money and it is also going to really enhance 911 capabilities.”