Albuquerque tackles dispatch system crashes
From the Albuquerque Journal: Albuquerque’s emergency dispatch system has been crashing quite a bit — four times this year alone, according to the police department. So the department has requested $276,311 to upgrade the software system that runs the computer-aided dispatch system.
System crashes can last several hours, during which emergency dispatchers and police cannot access or enter information through computers. Instead, 911 operators hand-write information on cards and hand them to dispatchers, who then pass the information to officers in the field by radio.
If the department is granted funding for the upgrade, the system will give officers voice-to-text capabilities, meaning officers will be able to tell their computer information and it will type it for them, eliminating the need to type while driving, which officers often do.