A new dispatch system launched this month in Summit County will improve emergency response.
Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) replaced aging, DOS-based technology that had been used by the county, the cities of Akron and Green and the University of Akron.
Brian Nelsen is chief of staff to Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro. He said the new system will enhance how first responders react to emergencies.
"All of our cell phones have GPS locaters in them. Dispatchers would be able to tell within a couple feet where the person making the call is actually located; something that just was never possible under the old dispatch systems." Nelsen said.
The system cost the county and its partners $3.5 million. Nelsen said it would have cost twice as much for communities to install the system independently.
Police departments in Cuyahoga Falls, Fairlawn and Stow will join the county system next year.
