Monumental 911 technology transition

Bedford County’s 911 Communications team has successfully made it to the other side of a technological transition that hasn’t happened in almost three decades.

In January 2022, Bedford County signed a contract with Motorola to move onto a new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system.

“CAD means the computer keeps track of all the police, fire and rescue units that are available. And when we receive a 911 call, the CAD system keeps track of that information as well throughout the entire response,” said Emergency Communications Director Christine Giglio.

Since early 2022, there has been an incredible amount of behind-thescenes planning, organizing, and strategizing because they had the opportunity—and the challenge—of building this new CAD system from the ground up.

“We met with Bedford Police, Bedford County Sheriff’s Office, and Bedford County Fire & Rescue and ultimately asked them... what do you want the software to do, as opposed to what we are doing now?” said Giglio.

One of the biggest improvements with the new CAD system is it recommends responding units based on where they are and what they can provide to a specific emergency. On the old system, dispatchers had a list of units but had to decide by hand which unit went where.

Another improvement is new addresses are updated more efficiently. Before, new addresses had to be entered into the system one-by-one. Now, Bedford County GIS can instantly sync address updates with the CAD system.

Bedford County Emergency Communications had used their prior CAD system since 1996.

“There has been a learning curve for sure. Our old system was what everyone was used to," Giglio said.

They are asking for the public’s patience as they continue to transition— which includes an understanding of why they may ask a lot of information about your address if you call.

“We have to validate all addresses in this system and tell the computer exactly where you are,” said Giglio. “It’s a lot of work, but this is a good thing. This is what a high-tech system requires and by using it the right way, we can get help to you when you need it much faster.”