Sheriff notes communication
problems at 911 Center

• Solution unclear; requests that four dispatchers work under his office

By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

What’s clear is Sheriff Chris Batten has concerns about communication issues that he says exist at the Columbus County 911 Center where emergency calls are received and help dispatched.

What is not clear is exactly what is causing the problems, he notes in a letter to commissioners more than a month ago.

Interim Emergency Services Director Kay Worley explained that the sheriff was requesting four telecommunicators to work directly for the sheriff’s office.

“I have one on each shift for the sheriff’s department,” Worley told the board. She explained there are multiple radio frequencies to monitor.

Four telecommunicators (dispatchers) work per shift. One is assigned to the sheriff’s radio frequency, another covers Fair Bluff, Tabor City, Chadbourn and other police departments, another dispatcher is assigned to Whiteville and a fourth covers county fire and rescue.

Worley explained that because of sick leave and vacation, sometimes there are only three to a shift but noted that two new employees had been hired.

She added that in addition to answering emergency calls, the department is loaded down with eight administrative lines – meaning if you call certain town halls or law enforcement after hours or at lunch, the call may roll over to the 911 Center.

“A couple of things we suggest is that we contact agencies and ask them to install an answering machine,” Worley said, to cut down on calls that are not emergency related. She said those machines should be programmed to direct callers to call 911 if it is an emergency.

Worley said it would decrease her employees’ workload so that they may focus on other duties.

Commissioner Ronald Gore said he called Fair Bluff Town Hall one day, for example, and it rolled to the 911 Center.

“We need to get these towns on board with these things,” he said. “That’s going to have to be implemented in these towns.”

Batten said yesterday (Nov. 28) that when he took office he made an effort to make sure there was a split position to answer calls at the jail until 10 p.m. He said that cut down on calls to the 911 Center but short of hiring someone to answer phones after 10 p.m. it was necessary some calls go to the 911 Center.

“I don’t think it is good public policy to have law enforcement calls going to an answering machine,” Batten explained.

“People deserve to talk to someone when they call a law enforcement phone line.”

Batten explained if a person calls after hours with information on a case while it is non-emergency, it is still important and dispatchers can get the caller in touch with an officer.

Commissioner Amon McKenzie asked if the sheriff’s department was satisfied with the meeting it had in October with Worley.

“The sheriff is in no way wanting to take over the 911 Center,” Capt. Lewis Hatcher said. He said that on some occasions radio communication that should have been recorded was not.

He agreed that telecommunicators have a lot to do and often must go from one frequency to the next. He said this at times has left the sheriff’s frequency unattended.

“We ask that we have one person designated to our frequency,” Hatcher explained. “I want to be very specific – we do not want to take over the 911 Center.”

He said the department wants the ability to “give some protocol’ on how sheriff calls are handled. “They do a good job,”

Hatcher said. “Our concern is safety of officers we have out there.

“We do not want to take over the 911 Center,” Hatcher insisted, again.

Worley said if there are four people on a shift all have to answer 911 calls, phone lines and emergency calls.

Commissioner Ricky Bullard asked how many instances there had been that information was lost.

Hatcher said there had been three in the past year and one involved a homicide.

“Everything in the 911 Center is recorded,” Worley told the board, adding that she wasn’t sure what the sheriff’s department was talking about.

“One is too many,” Chairman Sammie Jacobs declared.

“They are having to do too many things,” Hatcher defended the 911 dispatchers. “Someone could get distracted.”

“So do you need some more staff?” McKenzie asked Worley.

“Why can’t you just leave the sheriff communicator to handle the sheriff department?” Commissioner James Prevatte asked.
“You are going to need to add some people,” McKenzie said. “What ya’ll are looking for is the easy way out,” McKenzie told the board.

“No, you want to spend some money!” Prevatte fired back at McKenzie.

The board asked that the sheriff’s department and county staff try to work out some of the issues and come back to the board.

A recent letter to the Columbus County Board of Commissioners cites various communication concerns Sheriff Batten has with the 911 Center but it is not clear if communication device problems, confidentiality issues, understaffing or excessive non-emergency calls are too blame.