Delta police dispatch services were moved from Ladner to a central service this week.
On Tuesday morning, the department transferred its emergency call-taking and dispatch services to E-Comm, the emergency communications centre for much of the province. Until this week, when someone in Delta called 911 the call was initially answered by E-Comm and if police services were needed, it was transferred to local dispatchers based out of the department's headquarters in Ladner. E-Comm is the first point of contact for emergency calls for 80 per cent of the province. It provides 911 services for many other jurisdictions, including Vancouver, Richmond, West Vancouver and New Westminster. Delta is the 16th police agency in southwestern B.C. to integrate into E-Comm's centralized system.
"We are longtime partners with E-Comm as all of our first responders use the organization's radio system and they have been dispatching for Delta Fire and Emergency Services for more than 10 years," said Mayor Lois Jackson. "I am pleased with our new police dispatch partnership and am confident in E-Comm's ability to provide a level of service that supports Delta's 'no call too small' approach."
In 2013, E-Comm submitted a proposal to take over dispatch services for Delta. The Delta police board asked the department to review the proposal and come back with a recommendation. That review was put on hold in 2014 when former chief Jim Cessford announced his retirement.
Chief Neil Dubord said last year that picking up the review was one of his duties when he took over the post last summer.
The chief said senior department staff reviewed the system and recommended contracting out the service to E-Comm. After closed door discussions by the police board and Delta council, earlier this year the police board approved the transition.
Last year, some department staff voiced concerns over the move. Two dispatchers, who asked to remain anonymous, said there were concerns the quality of service Deltans have come to expect from the department will not be maintained, saying the Delta-based service had one of the fastest call answer times for 911 in the region.
They also raised concerns over the fact all of E-Comm's call taking and dispatch services are based out of the same office in Vancouver.
At the time, Dubord said moving to the regional system allows the Delta service to scale up or down easily based on the volume of calls. He said management looked at several different criteria when considering moving the service, including no loss of jobs in Delta and that the partnership would have to meet community expectations.
About half the dispatch staff made the move to E-Comm, said department spokesperson A/Sgt. Sarah Swallow. Of those who didn't, most accepted other civilian staff positions within the department, one was hired as a police officer and one accepted a position at another dispatch agency early on in the transition.
Swallow said the move to E-Comm does come with a cost savings for the department.
Veteran DPD dispatcher Karen Irwin, who was one of the local staff who joined E-Comm as part of the move, assumed command of dispatch at 7:26 a.m. Tuesday.
Immediately following the changeover, Dubord made a special radio broadcast from E-Comm to Delta officers: "This is Chief Neil Dubord calling to you from E-Comm. Welcome everyone to E-Comm. Today comes after a lot of hard work from everyone. Have a great shift - thank you."
E-Comm president and CEO David Guscott said a lot of preparation went into making the transition.
"Dispatch is a critical element of police response, which is why thorough preparation was our top priority for today's transition," he said Tuesday. "We're eager and ready to share our large team of experienced staff, our technology and purpose-built facility with residents and officers in Delta and we are proud to be their partners in public safety."
Swallow said the nowvacant dispatch room at DPD headquarters in Ladner will be repurposed into office space.
