VCSO Improving 911 System Thanks To $760K State Grant

Date Added: June 05, 2018 9:13 am

Andrew Gant
Office of Public Affairs & Media Relations

VCSO IMPROVING 911 SYSTEM THANKS TO $760K STATE GRANT

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office has been awarded an approximately $760,000 state grant to replace aging 911 hardware in the VCSO Communications Center, and the new equipment will be deployed with the latest software to take advantage of crucial new features like text-to-911.

The grant for $759,709 from the State of Florida E911 Board will pay for a complete replacement of the county’s existing, 6-year-old VIPER 911 call handling equipment and workstations.

“When our Telecommunicators pick up a 911 call, they become the very first of the first responders responsible for getting help to someone in need,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Tuesday. “Lives depend on us having the right technology to send help as fast as possible, and I’m grateful to the Florida E911 Board members who granted us the funds we need to do that here in Volusia County.”

The new equipment has an estimated lifespan of about 7 years. It replaces a system that was installed in 2012 with no E911 state grant funding. When installed, the new system will include the latest Viper 5.1 and Power 911 6.4 software that will take advantage of new features like text-to-911 (coming soon to Volusia County) and ECaTS (the Emergency Call Tracking System that will process raw 911 data and provide valuable information).

For more information on Enhanced 911 and the E911 board, visit: https://www.dms.myflorida.com/business_operations/telecommunications/enhanced_911