Although it has a population of more than 28,000, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania covers a large geographic footprint of around 450 square miles. From a law enforcement perspective, this can create a challenge for officers who are needed to respond to a scene as quickly and efficiently as possible. The traditional radio-based dispatch model is certainly reliable, but it is not the most effective and efficient way to provide accurate information to officers in real time and allocate vital public safety resources. “The answer to staying ahead was technology,” said Jeff Porter, director of Wyoming County 9-1-1.

To get ahead of the curve, Wyoming County 9-1-1 upgraded to SunGard Public Sector’s Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system in June 2014. The CAD module offers law enforcement communications centers a reliable solution that can dispatch and track patrol, fire and medical unit calls to pinpointed geographic locations.

Jeff’s team noticed how well the system’s worked on the first day the system was active, when an EMS call game through. “We received a call and were able to dispatch to an incident in a much more time efficient manner,” Jeff said. Thanks to the CAD system’s precise, embedded GPS, the first responder knew exactly where the incident had taken place – down to the right side of the street to be on. SunGard’s CAD system is smart, too, as it provides unit recommendations to dispatch, supports external data searches from a range of sources and monitors all alerts across the system.

“In my 10 years with Wyoming County 9-1-1 we’ve had four CAD systems, and SunGard’s is by far the most advanced and user-friendly,” Jeff noted. “When we first announced that we were investing in SunGard’s CAD, everyone on our team was happy, and everyone couldn’t wait for the system to come live.”

Wyoming County’s decision to move to CAD has decreased response times and increased efficiency for dispatch. As the county looks to expand the relationship with SunGard, Jeff expects to build out the CAD system and look into SunGard’s RMS and mobile offerings for public safety.