Berrien County officials seek funding to expand mobile access to computer-aided dispatch for police, fire and EMS

Summary

County staff presented a proposal to give 50 local agencies mobile access to the county's Computer-Aided Dispatch system, citing officer and responder safety, with year‑one costs and a requested county assistance figure. A resolution and memoranda of understanding will go to the Admin Committee for review.

County staff on the Berrien County Admin Committee presented a plan to expand countywide access to the county's Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system so law enforcement, fire and EMS can view unit locations, call narratives and alerts from mobile devices.

Caitlin, county emergency-services staff and project presenter, told commissioners the primary motivation is safety: "Ultimately, the most driving factor of this is safety." She said the rollout would include mobile tablets for fire and EMS and mobile-data terminals for law enforcement, with mapping, geofencing and secure messaging features that show unit locations and provide pop-up "be on the lookout" notifications.

The proposal would connect roughly 50 local agencies to the county CAD system — about 20 law-enforcement agencies and 30 fire/EMS agencies — and would require agreements and cost-sharing. The presenters said law enforcement connections must meet Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) security requirements and need a secure VPN to connect to the county CAD servers. "We have to make sure that that connection is reliable, robust, and and secure," County IT staff member Chris added.

Why it matters: Project proponents said shared CAD access reduces radio…

Berrien County officials seek funding to expand mobile access to computer-aided dispatch for police, fire and EMS

Summary

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