FSPD applies for enhanced 911 grant

The Fort Scott Police Department could receive a much needed technology boost in the near future.

FSPD officials recently applied for a $50,710 Kansas Wireless Enhanced 911 grant in order to complete needed upgrades to the department's computers and telephone equipment that are used to help FSPD staff determine the origin of emergency calls.

"Basically, we're trying to upgrade," FSPD Chief Ron Puterbaugh said. "We're in phase one of an upgrade for the hardware that runs our computers and mapping software. It wil upgrade our ability to locate wireless calls and give us a better location fix. It sometimes takes awhile and this will speed up the process and make it more accurate."

Eight years ago, the department received upgrades to all of its computer and phone equipment that allow staff to field wireless 911 calls and also view mapping details that provide the location of those calls. The technology allows the department to locate individuals who call dispatch and are either unable to disclose their location or refuse to do so. The FSPD dispatches calls for emergency services across Bourbon County.

The upgrades to the system will allow officers to be able to perform their jobs better, Puterbaugh said.

"In 2001, the (system's) infrastructure was put in place," he said. "Now, more people are going to a wireless line, and more people will be traveling through with the advent of the highway (U.S. Highway 69). We want to help people as they need it."

The state grant that FSPD officials recently applied for will allow for the purchase of newer, better equipment that will replace old, outdated equipment and software that is currently used at the Hawkins Public Safety Facility.

"We're getting better equipment," Puterbaugh said. "With technology changing as it does, this will keep us running more efficiently and allow us to provide protection for the citizens that they need."

The Kansas Wireless Enhanced 911 grant will help the department complete the needed upgrades. The grant requires no matching funds, and the grant will pay for all of the upgrades, according to a statement from the City of Fort Scott.

As part of the grant process, members of the Fort Scott City Commission and the Bourbon County Commission recently signed letters supporting the police department's application for the grant.

Grant funding under the Kansas Wireless Enhanced 911 State Grant program will be awarded to agencies between Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2010. If the FSPD is awarded grant money, the system upgrades would begin soon after the deparment receives the funds, Puterbaugh said.