New Police/Fire Dept.

[Guest]

I am just wondering if American Canyon will eventually dispatch from the new location in Vintage Ranch instead of dispatching through Napa PD?

Thank you!

[Fly On The Wall]

If you have ever listened to a scanner you would appreciate the professionalism of the dispatchers currently in Napa County. They don't make alot of money (from what I have read) but are the "customer service" of the police and sheriff's dept. and do an excellent job! Why do we need to change something that works so well?

[ACPD Brownlee]

GLOPRINCESS,

Currently the American Canyon Police Department, Napa Sheriff’s Department, Napa Police and Fire Departments, and on most Holiday weekends California Department of Fish and Game as well as the Napa Valley College and Wine Train Railroad Police use the same dispatch center. The center is manned twenty four hours a day, every day of the year.

This level of staffing requires a large number of employees, supervisor and other support staff. Currently all 9-1-1 calls generated within Napa County are routed to this dispatch center. The center is responsible for 6 or more different radio channels, their monitoring, recording and acting on user requests from the staff on the other end of the radio.

The equipment in the Call Center is state of the art and has recently been updated to include and integrated dispatch, mobile data transfer and reporting system. This multi million dollar upgrade is being used throughout the AC Police, Napa Sheriff’s and Napa Police Departments.

The employees staffing the dispatch center have undergone an academy, field training and have a vast array of experience to call upon from their personal history as well as their co-workers sitting in the dispatch center with them.

To leave this working base to establish a new center would create several underlying costs. Just a few of the costs would be the hiring and background checks into the new employees. Also you would have to purchase the equipment, maintain the training, pay for medical and retirement expenses. And any job related civil settlements that are work related (sexual harrassment, workman's comp claims to name a few)

Most of these costs are not incurred when you use a contract agency. You pay a flat fee for the services. Also by using a larger agency as a contract you do not have the same worries about what happens if an employee is sick, injured on the job or off on maternity/military leave.

The smaller agencies have difficulties staffing positions when just one employee is off duty. Larger agencies employ more people and missing one or two does not have the same impact.

Much the same is with your Police Department. If one or two of your officers are injured or on vacation, then we have the benefit of drawing bodies from the 100 plus employees of the Sheriff’s Department to keep ACPD staffed. Your Officers are here by request. The Chief screens all the applicants anytime there is an opening in ACPD. The applicants must be accepted by the Chief and Sergeants before they are allowed to transfer to ACPD.

Most of your current officers have been here for several years and have watched the city grow from a group of homes in Rancho and McKnight Acres to the city is it now.

I am sorry for long-winded answer Gloprincess, but your question deserved a thorough response….

[Guest]

Thank you for your information and clear sense of the "big picture."

I am a current candidate for dispatch and hope to be able to serve sometime this year!

Thank you for all of your hard work & dedication!