LOS ALAMITOS : Cities Study Unified Police Dispatching

The City Council has approved hiring a consultant to study the feasibility of consolidating police dispatching services with the cities of Cypress and Seal Beach.

By unanimous vote this week, the council agreed to retain Warner Group, a Woodland Hills consulting firm, to conduct the estimated $40,000, 14-week study.

Los Alamitos’ share of the cost will be $13,200, said Police Chief Jim Guess in a report to the council.

In January, councils of the three cities decided to study whether a single, larger dispatching center would be more efficient and less costly than maintaining separate facilities.

Officials said that the increasing demands for police services would probably be best met by consolidating their dispatching facilities. The three cities have a combined population of 83,000 people.

Guess said consolidation is also necessary because of the planned installation of a new and bigger countywide law enforcement radio system this summer. He said converting to the new radio system could cost each participating city about $100,000.

To spread the cost, it was decided that the three cities study ways to consolidate their communication facilities, he said.

Los Alamitos, Seal Beach and Cypress have been sharing services since last year because of state budget cuts and an effort to deliver services more efficiently. The cities share a court liaison and a consultant to monitor state laws on recycling and landfill waste diversion.

A committee composed of the city managers and police chiefs of the three cities recommended on March 4 that the Warner Group be chosen from among three bidders.

Guess said that the Warner Group has completed similar regional studies on merging police communications and recording systems.

According to the work plan submitted by the consultant, the study will focus on the site, the cost and how long it would take to set up the regional dispatching center. The study will also evaluate the dispatching needs of each city over the next five years and how the new countywide radio system will affect the communities.

Cypress, the biggest of the three cities, has nine dispatchers and 53 police officers. It has a population of 44,218 and an area of 7.2 square miles. In 1991, the latest figures available, police received 21,428 service calls.

Los Alamitos, with a population of 12,000 and land area of three square miles, has 26 sworn officers, three dispatchers and received 10,000 calls for service in 1991.

Seal Beach has a population of 27,000 and 12.5 square miles in land area. It has 40 police officers and three dispatchers. In 1991, police received 14,096 service calls.