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Posted by Garys on March 11, 2001 at 08:59:22: In Reply to: Re: CRT Based Dispatching posted by Gordon Smith, KD7LAN on March 09, 2001 at 23:02:49:
The reason for voice dispatch has nothing to do with not running into school buses. Rather, it's a reason that any scannerist will understand. Public safety agencies want the other units in the system to hear calls being dispatched. There are a couple of reasons for this; First and foremost, safety. If everyone hears the call going out, then they will know when and where the units are going. In case an assist is needed, they have an idea of where to go without looking up the call. Also, in systems not using Automatic Vehicle Location, and even in some that are, other units might have a better response time to the call and can volunteer. Unless the other units are sitting in their cars constantly looking at the MDT activity, they won't know that there are calls going out. These systems don't automatically send messages to every unit when a unit is dispatched. At least not the sytems that I am familiar with. As you note, a lot of routine (or even sensitive) information can be sent by computer. This not only provides confidentiality, but also saves a lot of air time on the voice channels. That too has benefits in that in busy systems if a unit needs help, they aren't trying to get through all the "chatter" on the channel to call the dispatcher. Finally, remember that in even the most advanced systems, not everyone has a computer. Motor officers, bike patrols, walking officers, and so on probably don't have computers. They will as more and more companies make PDA based systems with RF modules and prices come down, but that's still a few years away. Those systems exist, it just takes a few years for the finances to catch up with the technology. |
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| Copyright © 2001 by Richard J. Wells |
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