Security issues pondered (03/09/2009)

In an emergency, a 42-second delay could be disastrous.

Sheriff Ray Newton and 911 director Bill Baldwin informed the Jay County Commissioners this morning that there were recent changes to the courthouse alarm system due to equipment problems. Now the county either needs to look to a faster alternative or bear added risk for courthouse employees.

Before, the courthouse was wired to a terminal in the sheriff's department that would alert police immediately when a panic button located in any courthouse office was pushed. The terminal would also pinpoint which room the alarm was coming from, so police could respond directly to the site.

But due to equipment malfunctions, the alarm company, Priority 1 out of Fort Wayne, had to remove the terminal and now panic signals are transmitted to a call center in Michigan, which then calls the sheriff's department.

The new method is far from ideal.

"It took them five minutes," Baldwin said of an initial trial.

Baldwin worked with Priority 1 to eliminate several numbers on a phone list the company kept. The company attempted to call courthouse offices or Portland police before the sheriff's department. Baldwin said after working with the company that the call center will now phone county police directly.

"We got them to take everyone out of the list and it was 42 seconds," he said, but that number is only if the call comes straight in to the alarm company and then straight to a dispatcher.

"If they're busy, the operators, it could be a minute, two minutes before we get the call," Newton said. That number could continue to swell if the county's dispatchers are busy when the call comes in.

Notification time isn't the only problem.

"We don't know what room (the alarm) is coming from," Newton said.

While the previous system would notify a dispatcher of the exact room where a panic signal initiated, now police will only know that a panic button has been activated somewhere in the three-story courthouse. With each office having one or more panic buttons in it, response times will rocket if police don't know which office to go to.

"I just want you to be aware of it," Newton said, suggesting the county may want to look into a more reliable and direct system.

The commissioners, while on a phone call for other business, asked Steve Searles of Embarq if it was possible for him to wire a direct alert system.

Searles said he will have to investigate the current alarm system before he could answer that question. "I'll get back to you on that," he said. "I'm not sure what's in there."

In other business, this morning, the commissioners:

•In their capacity as Jay County Drainage Board, granted a variance to John Valentine, 4263 West 200 South, Portland, to build within the right-of-way of a county-maintained ditch.

•Signed an emergency claim for $1,000 to pay for bonding for Jay County Auditor Nancy Culy.

•Approved release of budgeted funds to the Jay County Drug Prevention Coalition. The Jay County Council will also have to grant approval before the group receives its funds.

•Discussed e-mail retention with Newton, who expressed concern that an e-mail backup program could capture sensitive information he receives. Culy said the system, which the commissioners decided to purchase last week for about $10,000, would be able to filter incoming messages based on sensitivity.

•Discussed installation of phone and date lines in the Meridian Street annex with Searles from Embarq.

Searles wanted to discuss a resubmitted quote which was higher than the commissioners previously discussed.[[In-content Ad]]