Gulfport May Consider Switch to County Police Dispatch

At the April 28 workshop of the Gulfport City Council, some discussion focused on reducing the Police Department budget by outsourcing its dispatch to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO). Though there would be significant savings, some question whether the city's needs would be sufficiently met since the dispatch center would no longer be staffed 24/7 in Gulfport for emergencies and lockup and that dispatchers outside the city might not be familiar with the territory.

Transitioning dispatch operations to PCSO would mean the elimination of Gulfport's four full-time dispatchers ($264,000), annual maintenance to the equipment and some of the costs associated with record keeping and computer technology done by City of Gulfport staff. Gulfport Police Chief Robert Vincent previously contacted PCSO and estimated that making the change would result in a savings of approximately $201,000 for the first year and an annual savings of approximately $271,000 thereafter, once the infrastructure was in place.

“I'm pretty neutral actually,” Chief Vincent said last week of a change in dispatch. “Obviously the dispatchers we have here would provide a better and safer service to the people here and to the officers here.”

He added that not having a dispatch department would save Gulfport on time, budget and training commitments and allow added focus on other law enforcement issues.

Gulfport resident Ernie Stone, a member of Gulfport Crime Awareness & Prevention, which is sanctioned by the police department and holds monthly meetings, is against making a switch.

“If you give it away it's going to be given to the sheriff's office who's going to run it the way they want to run it,” he said. “Giving it back is going to be almost impossible.”

His points are well made as the dispatch would then be under the direction of PCSO, which holds the right to make changes in its services and bill its client cities accordingly. Giving it back, as he said, would require the re-hiring of staff and re-installation of the necessary equipment, should it be removed or advances in technology made over time.

“If you've got a problem with a neighbor, unless it's violent or a potential of violence, they're not coming out,” Mr. Stone suggested. “They're going to tell you that's a civil matter. In Gulfport we get the opportunity to speak to an officer.”

If the change was made then non-emergency calls to the Gulfport Police would go to PCSO, which has a recorded directory to go through as opposed to the live dispatcher Gulfport currently provides. 911 calls, of course, would still be handled live.

Cecilia Barreda of PCSO's Media Department confirmed that they provide dispatch and police coverage for 12 municipalities including Belleair Beach, Belleair Bluffs, Belleair Shore, Dunedin, Indian Rocks Beach, Madeira Beach, North Redington Beach, Oldsmar, Redington Beach, Safety Harbor, Seminole and South Pasadena. It provides dispatch for three cities that have their own police departments including Belleair, Indian Shores and Kenneth City.

According to Gulfport Police Services Supervisor, James Beane, who is also a dispatcher, the Gulfport Police Department receives approximately 520 non-emergency police calls to the main number on a typical week and about 35 calls to 911.

He confirmed it would be a significant cost savings to the city.

“That would be the foremost advantage of it,” he said. “The drawback is that the dispatchers here, we know some of the callers just by their voices. We know certain landmarks, that a new gas station just opened at Gulfport Blvd. and 49th.”

He also noted the safety of having someone at the station 24/7 and that it has provided a safe haven for crime victims being pursued. In order for the door system and video monitoring to be operated by an outside dispatcher, extensive and expensive modifications would be required.

Another issue is accreditation. The Gulfport Police Department has been accredited voluntarily by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation (CFLEA), a state agency, for about 12 years. PCSO is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), a national agency. While both accrediting agencies are respected, various standards may differ and Gulfport would still be responsible for complying with CFLEA standards even though it contracts an outside dispatcher.

If CFLEA felt PCSO did not meet their standards, it could mean Gulfport forfeiting its accreditation, which is important to the police department. Chief Vincent explained that while there are no obvious discounts for insurance or other perks, it reflects well on the department.

“Accredited agencies in general have much fewer claims than ones who are not. Much fewer complaints than agencies who are not accredited,” he explained. “Those numbers translate into reductions in insurance costs and legal costs and that kind of thing.”

Jana Paulk, Northern Program Manager for CFLEA says it's possible to maintain the accreditation.

“If the Gulfport Police Department ends up having Pinnellas County do their communications then Gulfport would have to comply with [our] standards by using Pinellas County's policies,” she said. “They would have to build the files and prove compliance because we still want to ensure that Pinellas County is giving Gulfport Police Department the level of service that the standards require.”

She confirmed that 90 of the approximately 293 police departments in Florida are accredited with CFLEA and that PCSO was too until a few years ago.

According to Chief Vincent's estimates, the initial fee for Gulfport to contract PCSO's dispatch services would be approximately $115,000, then $85,000 annually. It would likely have to spend approximately $10,000 to configure video surveillance equipment and $30,000 to convert Gulfport's data and records to be compatible with PCSO.

As Chief Vincent noted, dispatch services would be completely in the hands of PCSO and the town would be forced to comply with and fund its share of any changes in the county's operations.

The chief also pointed to advantages in making a switch as PCSO communications are more streamlined with multiple jurisdictions in the event of a pursuit, sending out information to a much broader area, to more officers and in less time. In Gulfport, teletype messages go to a central processing center in West Virginia, which re-sends it back out to the appropriate agencies. If Gulfport was on the same radio channel as local sheriff's deputies they would instantly get the information.

“The ups and downs kind of put me right in the middle where I could go either way,” Chief Vincent said when asked if Gulfport should outsource its dispatch.

“I'm dead set against it myself. I believe in the home town rule,” Ernie Stone said. “It's been that way since day one and needs to remain that way. Once you start leaning toward county jurisdiction taking over your communications center the next step is getting rid of your police department and belonging to the sheriff's office.”

James Beane leans toward keeping dispatch in Gulfport.

“My personal opinion is each agency should have their own communications center, because you lose a lot of that knowledge,” he said. “Somebody calling here saying (ex.) John Smith is at it again, most of us know the background on John Smith. That's not something you're going to find with a 30, 40, 50, 60 man department handling calls from all jurisdictions.”

The issue will be discussed at tonight's 7 pm meeting of the Gulfport Crime Awareness & Prevention at the Gulfport Neighborhood Center at 1617 49^th St. South.

For more information check out the Chief's latest blog entry about this issue.

You may also contact members of the Gulfport City Council to voice your concerns or opinions.

• Mayor Mike Yakes
• Vice Mayor David Hastings
• Council Member Barbara Banno
• Council Member Jennifer Salmon
• Council Member Sam Henderson