Significant upgrade coming to Jefferson City 911 operations center

The Jefferson City 911 Center will soon get a major upgrade that officials say will be a safety improvement for the community.

The system that allows dispatch operators to monitor and communicate over the radio system is becoming outdated as it is currently 12 to 13 years old.

And the warranty on the technology is expiring, according to Capt. Eric Wilde with the Jefferson City Police Department.

This week, Cole County commissioners approved funding 25 percent of the $280,000 replacement.

The rest of the funds will come from money generated by Jefferson City’s current capital improvement sales tax.

The technology will have a new feature.

“This system will give us the opportunity to patch radio channels together which is a greater improvement to interoperability,” Wilde said. “It’ll allow us to patch two frequencies together so that we can talk simultaneously on the same channel.”

The current system’s lack of this capability has become a challenge, according to Wilde.

“It is tough whenever you have, say a pursuit or something that goes across jurisdictional boundaries to communicate with other agencies,” Wilde said. “So this will definitely be a safety improvement for the community.”

The Cole County Sheriff’s Office said the new system will benefit all area agencies and make the dispatch process more efficient.

“They’ll be able to put the calls out a little faster, they’ll be able to have more information at their fingertips,” Capt. John Wheeler said. “So it’ll benefit the law enforcement officers and EMS and fire out on the road.”

The new technology is expected to last about 10 years.