BURLINGTON, MA (WBZ-AM) --Several communities are signing on to a more modern 9-1-1- dispatch system and it's particular helpful for callers using a cell phone.
The goal: To shorten response times during emergencies.
Prior to the switch all 9-1-1 calls made from a cell phone were connected to a regional state police dispatch center first then transfered to a local police station.
The Burlington Police department is one of the latest organizations joining less than two dozen communities and agencies to sign on to the program.
Burlington Police Chief Michael Kent tells WBZ NewsRadio1030 that the new program allows cell phone users to speak to a local dispatcher.
"This will eliminate the middleman," he said. "The cell phone will go directly to Burlington Police dispatch and obviously during an emergency situation, every second matters," he said
Since its implementation, Chief Kent says his department has received about a dozen more calls per day.
Other communities participating in the Wireless Direct Program include
- Acton Police
- Barnstable Police
- Bourne Police
- Bridgewater Police
- Brookline Police
- Burlington Police
- Dartmouth Police
- Everett Communications
- Greenfield Police
- Marblehead Police
- Norfolk County RECC
- South Worcester County Communications Center
- Spencer Police
- Watertown Police
- Yarmouth Police
- Boston Police
- Metro North RECC
- Nantucket Police
- Regional Old Colony Communications Center
- Rutland RECC
- West Bridgewater Police
WBZ NewsRadio1030's Bernice Corpuz reports