Pa State Police CDC to shut down July 30th, 2012

Sources directly associated with the PA State Police Central Dispatch Center, located on the grounds of Norristown State Hospital in Norristown, PA, indicated that the multimillion dollar facility will be closing its doors and ceasing operations on July 30th, 2012. The CDC originally opened in 2004 and served the southeast region of Pennsylvania, taking phone calls and dispatching for areas local to our area, such as PSP Skippack and PSP Belmont. The facility was outfitted with top-of-the line equipment, including a new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and other computer and communications equipment, and functioned much like the Montgomery County 9-1-1 Center, operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The fate of many of the Police Communication Officers (PCO) is yet to be determined, however it appears that many of them will be returning to their original PSP barracks where they first came from or heading to a new barracks to resume their duties.

The stated reason for closing the operations at the Norristown CDC, according to previous statements made by State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan before the Senate budget hearings, was to put more Troopers back on the street. A confidential source within PSP, however, advised that the operations of the CDC does not affect any street patrol resources.