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Since the early 1980’s, the Cass County Communications Center has been providing
fast and effective access to emergency and non-emergency services to the
citizens of Cass County. The 5 fulltime employees handle calls 24 hours a day,
365 days a year, dispatching assistance to Cass County’s nearly 15,000 citizens,
and to visitor’s and passers-by. As you might have guessed, there is only 1
dispatcher on duty at any given time.
On Monday, May 24, 1999 at 8:00am, Cass County Communications Center began
receiving 911 calls not only countywide, but also in enhanced format which
provides name, address, and telephone number on a screen in the communications
center.
Today, the Cass County Communications answers landline 911 calls for all of Cass
County and the southeastern portion of Pottawattamie County that is served by
the Griswold Telephone Company. The center staff also answer all wireless
(cellular and PCS) 911 calls that originate in Cass County, plus some areas
outside of the county. The center staff prescreen the call, then either dispatch
the appropriate responses or transfer the call as needed to adjoining counties
or the Iowa State Patrol.
The dispatchers of the Cass County Communications Center receive the equivalent
of 3 months of training prior to being allowed to work a shift on their own.
This training includes 2 ½ months of on-the-job training with the lead
dispatcher, 40 hours of training at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, plus 36
hours of training at the Iowa Department of Public Safety where they receive
certification to use the Iowa Online Warrants and Articles (IOWA) System.
The IOWA System provides access to a wide variety of information to police
departments, sheriff's offices, and other city, county, state and federal
criminal justice agencies throughout Iowa. Such data includes wanted/missing
persons, stolen vehicles and articles, protective orders, sex offenders,
homeland security information, Amber Alerts, motor vehicle registration files,
driver licenses, and criminal history. The network also provides a gateway to
other states, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), NLETS and 186 other
countries through Interpol.
The Cass County Communications Center is managed by the Director of E911
Services who also serves as Terminal Agency Coordinator for the IOWA System. The
director reports directly to the Cass County Sheriff who serves as the agencies
Terminal Agency Administrator. The director and sheriff report to the Cass
County Public Safety Commission, which has policy and budgetary authority over
the center.
The Cass County Public Safety Commission is comprised of 6 persons who are duly
elected officials in the jurisdictions they represent. Two persons represent
Cass County, two persons represent with City of Atlantic, one person represents
the City of Anita and one person represents the City of Griswold. The Commission
is organized under Chapter 28E of the Iowa Code and the
28E agreement and Bylaws for the Commission can be found here. The
Commission meets on the fourth Monday of the month at 5:15pm in the basement
meeting room of the Cass County Courthouse. The meeting is open to the public. |
