The Royal Bahamas Police Force signed a contract for a new $2.9 million 919 emergency call system yesterday and it is scheduled to be operational by December, according to Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest.
At a news conference at police headquarters, Turnquest revealed the new system will be able to track the location of calls, even those made from a mobile phone.
Turnquest also said the new system is expected to help shorten police and ambulance response times.
"We all know that long response times to emergency calls can have a significant negative impact on the outcome of the emergency," he said.
"Very often the most viable solution for receiving quick attention to an emergency is not the building of additional fire and police stations or medical facilities; it is having in place the means by which one is able to effectively communicate in order to shorten the response times to an acceptable level."
Turnquest also announced that Motorola Solutions would be providing the platform for the new emergency call system, adding that Motorola has provided the government of The Bahamas communication systems for the past 15 years.
The new 919 system will also allow police and emergency vehicles to be tracked in order for dispatchers to be able to send the closest vehicle to an incident, according to Turnquest.
"The Computed Aided Call Handling System (CACH) is to ensure high quality, consistent call handling and an enhanced standard of care for The Bahamas' emergency response process," Turnquest said.
"While assisting the call taker in gathering all incident information from an emergency caller, the CACH software will recommend response levels based on the severity of an incident and will ultimately reach a dispatch recommendation."
Fernando Bonilla, regional vice president of Motorolla Solutions, said The Bahamas is fortunate to be one of the only countries in the region to have this new system, and he ensured that the entire platform is upgradable.
Turnquest said that the new system will save time, money and lives.
"No longer would officers in the field have to verify with the police command and control centers in Nassau or Freeport their location as the APL/AVL system will automatically display their location," he said.
"In this way there will be a more effective and efficient deployment of staff in responding to calls."

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian