The Pike County Sheriff’s Office, Indiana has transitioned to PowerPhone’s Total Response emergency call handling solution to streamline 911 call-handling operations. Total Response provides the tools, processes and training for Pike County’s Public Safety team to define, achieve and measure their 911 call-handling standard of care.
At the center of the transition is PowerPhone’s emergency call handling software that communicates with Pike County’s existing CAD system to seamlessly transfer information from 911 call handlers to emergency responders. The Pike County Sheriff’s Office uses Cushing CAD (J2), which had previously built an interface to Total Response.
Total Response utilizes an integrated protocol system to meet the complete needs of any 911 call. Protocols guide the call handlers through each call using PowerPhone’s patented call-taking formula to rapidly identify each emergency and dispatch the appropriate responder skill set according to Pike County’s response plan. PowerPhone worked with Pike County to best apply their call handling processes and response plans with PowerPhone’s protocols allowing for a seamless transition to the new Total Response system. Residents will see faster, more consistent call handling processes for 911 emergencies.
Total Response also includes administrative and management tools to help Pike County maintain call-handling consistency and identify areas for operational and training improvements. The “Call Assessment” module enables staff to review past calls and share them in peer-to-peer training sessions. Call assessment also provides actionable data insights that can be used to enhance training, identify trends, refine operations and monitor agency performance. Two Pike County Sheriff’s Office staff members have been certified in Call Assessment Management.
PowerPhone provided each Pike County Sheriff’s Office call handler with protocol certification training and provided system and administrative training for managers. The implementation process also provided full software installation, around-the-clock support and will handle all future software and protocol updates to keep Pike County current with 911 call-handling best practices.
