BUENA PARK : Construction Begins on Dispatch Center
A new communications center for the city’s Police Department is under construction.
The 1,200-square-foot addition is planned for the department headquarters at the Civic Center. The eight dispatchers who handle all calls to the police currently are squeezed into the basement of the building.
After a bidding error was ironed out, Bay Oak General Contractors of Torrance was awarded the contract for the project earlier this year. The project will cost about $480,000, including $335,224 for the building and $145,000 for equipment improvements. It is estimated to be completed in May, 1992.
In addition to the new facility, a computer-aided dispatch system and an upgraded 911 telephone line will also be added.
The new dispatch system will improve police service to the community, officials say.
Instead of a dispatcher having to track down an officer when a call comes in, the computer will do it automatically. “It will mean a quicker response time,” said Sgt. Terry Branum, police spokesman.
The city’s current team of dispatchers fielded 32,388 calls for service in 1990--a number that is projected to increase 10% this year.
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