Greenwich PD turns to civilian dispatchers

[x635 4,066]

Civilians will begin fielding calls, sending emergency help

 

By Martin B. Cassidy

Staff Writer

www.greenwichtime.com

December 31, 2005

Four civilians will begin handling emergency police and medical calls in late February, the first step toward replacing sworn police officers with civilians for dispatching all emergency calls within the next two years.

But many police officers believe their training makes them better-suited to dispatching the calls, which can involve life-threatening situations, according to Sgt. James Bonney, president of the Greenwich Silver Shield Association.

The police officers would prefer to retain their authority over determining the appropriate level of response to calls, and to be able to give the dispatchers direction, depending on their experience level, Bonney said.

"Most of our concerns have to do with accountability," Bonney said. "The sergeant should have the ability to direct the civilians as to what the proper decision- making during a call should be."

First Selectman Jim Lash and Police Chief James Walters have said a major benefit of the plan is that it returns highly trained police officers previously doing dispatch to patrol.

Under the civilian dispatch plan, the town is phasing-in the conversion over the next 18 months by hiring 16 civilian dispatchers-- six so far and 10 in 2006-07. Three of the civilians would serve as supervisors and would be accountable to a police lieutenant. The dispatchers would earn between $35,824 and $49,472.

Police Lt. Richard Cochran, who is overseeing the transition, said the addition of dispatchers in February should allow three police officers who formerly handled dispatching to be reassigned to patrol.

"Some of the guys are excited to get back on the road, others aren't," Cochran said.

In practice, desk sergeants will probably use their experience with particular types of calls to assist dispatchers. Dispatch computers also include logs of the call history of particular locations for the dispatchers to use, Cochran said.

"Nothing changes," Cochran said. "If an officer is familiar with a residence that has a history of weapons or family violence, he will be able to tell the dispatcher that."

Conversion of fire calls to civilian dispatch will take longer, Cochran said, because of specialized training required to deploy personnel to fire emergencies.

The town first put civilian dispatchers in place in 1977, but the employee turnover rate among them was high, and emergency response was being delayed by inexperienced dispatchers. Uniformed officers were brought back to replace them in the mid-'80s.

Town officials said advances in training, including standardization of response procedures, will make mistakes less likely.

[x242Steve 1]

So... if I was a resident of Greenwich, who had no knowledge of emergency services, dispatch, etc-- this article might leave me wondering about the pros and cons of this transition. I might say to myself "How do they know this will work?"

Maybe the author should have mentioned the multitude of neighboring communities (Westchester County, Stamford, Norwalk...) who have been successfully using civilian dispatchers for years-- not to mention the thousands of other dispatch centers throughout the country (and world) that are not solely operated by "uniformed" personnel.

If you have non-buff friends in Greenwich-- ensure them that this is not some radical new idea!

Don't mean to be grumpy, but I dislike bad journalism.

Edited January 3, 2006 by 242steve

[Dr. Zuki 1]

They should also civilianize those wastful, three cops on crossing guard duty on Greenwich Avenue. Absurd waste of manpower having cops do this function.

[X615 0]

if it's all about money which it always is with walters who is known as a notoriously cheap penny pincher with his people i agree having cops standing on their "dots" on the avenue is ridiculous. it's my understanding that if something were to occur right next to them that they are prohibited from leaving their post. this isn't 1937 and a report commisioned by he town in the 30's specifically states they should be abolished. another money saver would be getting rid of the "technician" rank & return those cops to doing what cops do not fixing computers nd other non-cop duties. what they really need is a chief brought in from the outside to shake things up a bit. they have some really good agressive street cops & middle management that get held back due to the 1950's thinking at the top. i'm not a greenwich cop nor have anything to gain personally, i'd just like to see it function at it's full potential and not hide behind "that's the way it's always been done" like the absurd car numbering system and shying away from putting shotguns in cars because it gives residents "the wrong impression". those familiar with the peculiar way of doing business in greenwich could make this a fascinating thread.

[Guest]

I've heard about the civilians also...Bad move in the eyes of many of the cops there. Not that civilians arent capable, but in that line of work, you need an experienced cop on the other end of the line...someone thats "been there and done that"..Also, when the crap hits the fan, the street cop needs to have confidence in his or her dispatcher and their experience. As for the Chief, I heard, from a VERY good source, that the guy is SO CHEAP, that he blew up when he discovered that the department was using "click pens" which are a few cents more expensive that those with caps....THEN, he collected the click pens, returned them, ordered ones with caps, AND took the caps away so employees wouldnt be tempted to put it in their pocket and accidentaly take it home, costing him money.

Greenwich has a good reputation for their street cops...and the Chief and Police Commisinor have reputations for not caring about them.What a shame.

Edited January 3, 2006 by FREEZEMF

[X615 0]

pens? pens? PENS?????????????? are you kidding me. being stuck between port chester and stamford as well as an appetizing target for crime right off i-95 why doesn't he put his time to better use fighting drugs or the teams of professional shoplifters infiltrating the town daily robbing greenwich ave blind or trying to solve the murder of matthew margolies over 20 years ago. that's why chiefs hired from the outside are a breath of fresh air. wasting time worrying about click pens is a disgrace.

[dadbo46 50]

It's about time ! Welcome to the 20th....ah...I mean 21st century !!!

With the proper training, civilian police and/or fire dispatchers are just fine. Get over it already !!!

[x242Steve 1]

Greenwich doesn't carry ANY shotguns?

Forget the crime factor for a sec-- what do they do when they have an injured deer?

[20y2 43]

Greenwich doesn't carry ANY shotguns?

Forget the crime factor for a sec-- what do they do when they have an injured deer?

←

Call for ESU?

[Dr. Zuki 1]

x615,

Sounds like Greenwich is too steeped in it's ways, but many other police agencies are not all open to change either. That said, the town should commission a study from The International Association of Police Chiefs or any other police recognized consultants. Civilian traffic cops work, just look at the busiest corners in NYC and you will see them on a daily basis. They are technically considered members of the police department. It works, you just have to be open minded.

And Greenwich likely has been victimized by the most professional, organized burglar teams in America. Do they have a problem with pick lock burglars in their apartment buildings?

And the other thing that escapes me since the cops have encryption, why don't they use it on a full time basis???

Happy New Year to all.

[X615 0]

as far as deer go there are a couple cars w/ .22lr's in their cars to "neutralize" deer. lees than humane but "that's how it's always been done". the only cars w/ shotguns in greenwich are supervisors, detectives (that's a joke) and the 2 "accident cars" but "that'show it's always been done". i don't understand the "accident car" concept either. these guys are considered corporals, supervise the less senior guys in the squad and are generally used as backup to the other posts but their main responsibility is accident investigation. this is absurd and are there so many serious & fatal accidents every day they need to cover the town w/ 2 cars just for this purpose? they'd best be serving the town by incorporating accident investigation into traffic enforcement and stafing the former accident cars with guys from the SRU team that handle calls with weapons domestics & other high risk calls or since they are considered corporals make that a permanant rank and give them the responsibility of being the FTO's. reruits riding with these guys would get a much broader exposure to the town, higher rate of calls & just much more thorough training experience.

[Guest]

dadbo46

Dont tell me to get over it when its my life on the line.

[Guest]

as far as deer go there are a couple cars w/ .22lr's in their cars to "neutralize" deer. lees than humane but "that's how it's always been done". the only cars w/ shotguns in greenwich are supervisors, detectives (that's a joke) and the 2 "accident cars" but "that'show it's always been done". i don't understand the "accident car" concept either. these guys are considered corporals, supervise the less senior guys in the squad and are generally used as backup to the other posts but their main responsibility is accident investigation. this is absurd and are there so many serious & fatal accidents every day they need to cover the town w/ 2 cars just for this purpose? they'd best be serving the town by incorporating accident investigation into traffic enforcement and stafing the former accident cars with guys from the SRU team that handle calls with weapons domestics & other high risk calls or since they are considered corporals make that a permanant rank and give them the responsibility of being the FTO's. reruits riding with these guys would get a much broader exposure to the town, higher rate of calls & just  much more thorough training experience.

←

[Guest]

The town of Greenwich paid an outside company to do a study of the police department and highlight the problems therein...

One part of the study said that they needed to remove traffic officers from the main shopping strip....

Another was to put an end to the nepotism....

The study was done in 1936

The traffic officers are still there.

As far as the encryption mode on the car radios and portables go...

That was disabled a year ago....

The radio system was old technology 10 years ago.

Edited January 4, 2006 by FREEZEMF

[dadbo46 50]

dadbo46

Dont tell me to get over it when its my life on the line.

←

I'm going to assume that you are a PO in Greenwich...hence your response to my post.

I was in one of the first waves of civilian police/fire dispatchers for a large Westchester County police agency in the 70's. It was initially a battle with the uniforms and, in particular, the PBA. I proved myself to the point that the radio cars looked forward to working with us. It took a number of years and an understanding of what each other's job was, but it works.

You will, however, encounter some complete idiots who try to do the job. But that goes for all jobs. The bosses have to weed them out and build upon the success of the good ones.

Give it time....it WILL work.

[Guest]

Does this mean that staffing levels for GPD will be 4 positions lower?

If this is the case then I can see the problem, I do not know how I feel about this subject. I can see the argument on both sides, esp with the PBA involved. I definately would not trust a police "consultant company" either, I'm sorry.

[Dr. Zuki 1]

When I suggested hiring consultants, I did not mean a private business consulting company, but did mean law enforcement recognized organizations like the International Association of Police Chiefs, etc.