NICE News Special Edition - Volume 2, Issue 7

	JIM PARK UPDATE NICE, MOTOROLA COLLABORATE JEFFERSON COUNTY'S MICHAEL LEE TELECOMMUNICATOR OF THE YEAR: KATHY BOBOT INSIGHT 2006: LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER CORYELL COUNTY SHERIFF APCO AWARD WINNERS NICE IN THE NEWS PICTURE YOUR PSAP IN NICE NEWS PUBLIC SAFETY RESOURCE CENTER NICE EVENTS




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CORYELL COUNTY SHERIFF GETS NICE IN THE "NICK OF TIME"

The Coryell County Sheriff's Department probably has a lot in common with other rural sheriffs' departments, but for one thing - its unique location. Situated in Central Texas just 36 miles West of Waco, the Sheriff's Office is within "stone's-throw" distance of two notable landmarks: Fort Hood (the largest active duty armored post in the United States); and President Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch.

Being close to an expansive military installation and a Presidential retreat means that the Coryell County Sheriff's office sometimes finds itself fielding an occasional call from Fort Hood, to investigate a possible downed plane. "Fort Hood will give us the GPS coordinates where a plane dropped off radar and we'll send our fire department or officers out to investigate," explained Joe Blakley II, Chief Deputy of the Coryell County Sheriff's Office.

One such incident occurred on May 9, 2006. An air traffic controller at Fort Hood contacted the Coryell County Sheriff's Office Communications Division to report a probable downed plane.

But, this incident had a twist. After receiving the initial call from Fort Hood, the Coryell County Sheriff's Office received another unexpected call - from the pilot of the plane in question. Placing the call by cell phone, the pilot related that he had just made an "unscheduled crash landing" and that he was OK. But when the dispatcher asked him to identify himself and his location, the pilot refused, raising further suspicions.

"At the time it was very critical because we had been contacted by the Secret Service," explained Blakley. "Anytime a plane goes down we're required to notify the FAA and the Transportation Safety Board."

Using the GPS coordinates provided by the air traffic controller at Fort Hood, Blakley's officers eventually located the elusive pilot and his plane. In the end, the pilot's motives were not sinister. He had simply wanted to conceal his identify so he could remain anonymous and skirt any investigation.

Still, there was another unexpected twist in this story.

The Coryell County's Sheriff's Department had just installed a recording system from NICE days earlier, making it possible to capture the entire conversation (between the dispatcher and the evasive pilot) and hand it over to the FAA. In fact, the center had just "turned on the switch" to its new NiceCall Focus^TM III three days before the incident in question. Prior to that, they had not been recording their dispatch communications at all.

"Because we had the NiceCall Focus III in place, we were able to go back and listen to the whole conversation," said Blakley. "We could hear exactly what the pilot said and how evasive he was right from the beginning. The FAA was very interested in talking with this gentleman."

The Coryell County Sheriff's office purchased its NiceCall Focus III from S&P Communications (based in Texas), utilizing homeland security grants made available through the Central Texas COG (Council of Governments).

Blakley, whose dispatchers used to rely solely on hand-written records to document 9-1-1 calls, said the solution had been sorely needed, and not just for the incident in question. "We've needed it for a long time," he said. "When you get someone who has been involved in a major car wreck or a shooting calling in, sometimes you can't understand what they're saying. They may speak too fast, too loudly, and they're firing off details very quickly. Sometimes we can't write those down as fast as they're giving us the information. Now, we can go back immediately and clarify what was said," Blakley added.

Blakley, whose team works around the clock dispatching law enforcement, EMS and fire-related calls, also anticipates that the recordings will be crucial for investigations and court cases.

"When you get 9-1-1 calls where you've got a witness to a robbery or some other type of incident, it's vital to capture word for word what was said," noted Blakley. "It helps you piece together exactly what took place. It's very valuable information. Before, all we had were written records."

LEARN MORE
Visit the Coryell County Sheriff's Department website at www.sheriff.co.coryell.tx.us.

Read more about S&P Communications at www.spcomm.com.

Get more information on NiceCall Focus^TM III at www.nice.com/products/multimedia/nicecall_focus_iii.php.

Read more about NICE's other public safety solutions at www.nice.com/solutions/public/first_responder.php.