The Berrien County Board of Commissioners has approved a resolution to support the rollout of a more advanced police and fire dispatch system in the county.
Thursday’s vote set in motion the adoption of Computer Aided Dispatch, or CAD, at the 47 first responding agencies in the county that don’t yet have it. Coloma Township Police Chief Wes Smigielski addressed the board Thursday to thank them for helping local departments acquire CAD technology.
“It puts us to the next generation of what pretty much everybody else in the state already has in CAD,” Smigielski said. “It’ll get officers to places quicker. Communication will enhance. Dispatchers will be less burdened by some of the awful radio traffic that some of our officers produce on a daily basis. Larger scale calls will become a lot easier. You’ll be able to see where all the officers are.”
CAD software contains all sorts of details about a given emergency and helps responding officers know where they’re going and who is nearby.
The board’s vote on Thursday commits the county to providing up to $8,000 to police agencies in the county and up to $3,000 for fire agencies to implement CAD. The total county commitment is $213,000.
The resolution says the investment demonstrates the county’s commitment to strengthening public safety services, ensuring interoperability between agencies, improving emergency response, and promoting safer outcomes.
