The NG911 transition involved a major undertaking: the geographic mapping of the entire state to enable the visu- alization of contextual information when plotting an emergency caller's location. Once the geographic map- ping was complete, some key benefits of NG911 were almost immediately apparent to officials. The mapping has proven to shave critical minutes off response times throughout the com- monwealth. With improved location accuracy, law enforcement and all first responders can reach incidents more efficiently. This is especially critical in rural areas, parks, densely populated urban areas or on freeways. Ultimately, NG911-enabled mapping technology helps first responders reach callers quickly, even when the caller is not aware of or able to com- municate their location. “NG911-enabled mapping software provides our dispatchers with a visual display of the caller’s location, which further enhances our ability to re- spond in a more accurate and expe- dited manner,” says Kyle P. Heagney, Chief of Police for the City of Attleboro Police Department. “This is especially important if the caller is unfamiliar with his or her surroundings.” As part of its NG911 transition, Massa- chusetts also centralized 911 services by moving many smaller, local PSAPs to regional centers. The thinking was to centralize dispatching in order to share costs, as well as increase ef- ficiencies and provide better services. While PSAP consolidation can be a controversial issue, in the case of Mas- sachusetts, they consolidated where it made sense, while preserving as much local control as possible. The common- wealth started with 267 PSAPs and is now operating with 226.
emergency and then transfer the call to the appropriate PSAP.” “The receiving PSAP would conduct a vetting process of the emergency call, make a number of critical decisions and then transfer the call again. If the emergency was a fire or medical, the caller would be transferred a third time, and the call would be vetted again by the fire dispatcher,” says Heagney. He bemoans how much time was spent vetting and transferring calls and how it delayed critical response times and was often subject to human error. “This vetting process was inefficient and sometimes ineffective,” he says. Heagney is confident that the current system gets law enforcement to the incident faster and more prepared. They know where they are going and what to expect when they get there.
While centralizing some 911 services has helped Massachusetts manage the process and offset technology costs, it is not essential to an NG911 upgrade. “NG911 benefits all PSAPs—large, small and regional,” explains Norm Fournier, Deputy Director of the Massachusetts’ 911 Department. The technology upgrades have been equal across the state. “Eventually, we will be able to provide images and digital data. The Massachusetts NG911 system today provides wireless direct and texts to all PSAPs,” he says. “Prior to NG911, all emergency cell phone calls were routed via the State Police PSAP and the call was then transferred to our police department,” explains Chief Heagney. “The State Police had to assess the nature of the GETTING LAW ENFORCEMENT TO THE SCENE FASTER
NG911-enabled mapping software provides our dispatchers with a visual display of the caller’s location, which further enhances our ability to respond in a more accurate and expedited manner. —Kyle P. Heagney, Chief of Police for the City of Attleboro Police Department
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