Jackie Schlotfeldt

The Socorro Police Department is putting the finishing touches on the newly remodeled E-911 facility that will enhance dispatch capabilities and provide more accurate identification of locations from calls coming in — whether the call is from a home phone or a cell phone.

Police Chief George Van Winkle said when he took office in January 2009, one of his priorities was to get the new dispatch center completed. One of the holdups, Van Winkle said, was completing the mapping and addressing in Socorro County because the county is so large, and much of it is rural, which proved to be a big task.

"She (911 coordinator Grace Castillo) was on the phone with DFA (Department of Finance and Administration) and Motorola all the time," Van Winkle said. "I hounded her and she hounded them. I can honestly say that because of the tenacity of Grace, this finally got accomplished."

The new dispatch center is now equipped with state-of-the-art computer equipment. A large digital clock hangs on the east side of the room and is connected to the new equipment and fine-tuned within 1/100th of a second of real time Castillo said. There are two stations with multiple monitors — one for NCIC (National Crime Information Center) information; one for 911 calls; one for mapping locations and the other for radio transmissions.

"Everything will be visual," Castillo said, explaining how dispatchers will view information from incoming calls. "But even with the visuals, you still need to confirm the information."

Each new dispatch station can also be raised or lowered which will allow dispatchers to stand or sit during their eight-hour shift.

Castillo, who has worked in dispatch for 21 years, said she remembers having only a telephone and a radio in a small room when she first began.

"And now this," Castillo said smiling, pointing to the new room and equipment. "I'm ecstatic about it."

With the new system coming online by mid-March, Van Winkle said incoming calls from outlying areas along I-25 or other rural roads in the county will be directed to the Socorro Police Department.

"The problem in the past on I-25 is the call would go somewhere else," Van Winkle explained. "And, some calls in Magdalena would go to (the police station in) Reserve."

But all that will change once the system is online.

Castillo added that with the new visual equipment, dispatchers will be able to see where the calls are coming from, which will be a great help, because sometimes people don't know exactly where they are.

Motorola Senior Program Manager Dieter Schmidt said wireless carriers are mandated by the state to submit data that identifies the cell tower sector that transmits the call and in turn display its location to the dispatch center receiving the call.

"Phase 1 relays the (cell) tower the call came from," Schmidt explained. "Phase 2 relays the GPS (global positioning system) signal from the cell (phone) within 10 meters."

Schmidt said the mandate from the state requires all wireless carriers be 30W compliant by the end of the year, which means both Phase 1 and Phase 2 will have been completed according to National Emergency Number Association standards.

There are seven dispatchers at the Socorro P.D. and Castillo said they are all certified through the Department of Public Safety. Each dispatcher was trained in areas such as radio etiquette, stress management, legal issues, emergency medical and NCIC. Castillo said dispatchers must also maintain 20 hours of advanced training every two years.

"It's necessary to have good dispatchers because our lives depend on these people," Van Winkle said of his officers and the public.

"We have a good crew," Castillo added.

Castillo said dispatchers handle police, fire, ambulance, utilities, mental health, dog catcher and many other kinds of calls.

"We handle everything," she said.

And just like the officers patrolling the streets 24/7, the dispatchers, too, are working non-stop to provide assistance to the community who are in need of help.

Contact Jackie Schlotfeldt