FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FORT MYERS, Fla. (May 14, 2002)
– Lee County is purchasing an upgrade to its Computer Aided Dispatch System
that eventually will allow emergency agencies to track the location of cellular
911 calls and provide for improved mapping to direct public safety personnel to
emergencies.
The
Board of Lee County Commissioners approved the $2 million expenditure for the
hardware and software at its regular meeting today.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is contributing $1.1 million to the
purchase. The money will pay for the upgrade to the Sheriff’s Office’s and
Lee County Public Safety’s CAD systems.
Today’s
purchase is only part of the equipment that will be needed to implement cellular
911 tracking. Wireless carriers
also will have to install hardware and software on their end.
The county hopes to begin testing the new system in December.
With
the new technology, any 911 call in the county to any police, fire/rescue, or
emergency medical agency will be able to be located.
Currently, people can call 911 on their cell phones, however their
location is not known unless they tell the dispatcher.
The
ability to track and locate cellular 911 calls is a mandate of the Federal
Communications Commission.
Lee County’s Division of
Public Safety oversees Emergency Medical Services (countywide ambulance
service), Emergency Management (disaster preparedness/response), the E-911
program, and the countywide emergency radio system.
It employs 304 and has an operating budget of $28.4 million.