The Newton Board of Aldermen has allowed Newton County 911 to roll the Newton Police Department’s 601-683-2041 number to dispatch when the city switches its dispatching to the county April 1.
County 911 director Brian Taylor attended last week’s Newton Board of Aldermen meeting and addressed where the county stood in taking over emergency dispatch services. During the meeting, Taylor said he was concerned that people calling with emergencies during Newton Police office hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. could leave the city with liability since the city would not be able to dispatch officers to the scene after the transition.
“I feel like it could be a liability to the city if we don’t transfer all calls dialed using the main Newton Police number to the county,” Taylor said. “If the caller was told to hang up and dial 911, then that could slow response time. So I think it would be better to roll that number to us, and then then police department could get a new number.”
Newton Police Chief Harvey Curry said he understood the decision and agreed that it might be best to roll that to the county.
“We’ve told people to call our main number with emergency calls that it might be best to do that,” Curry said.
Taylor also said home and commercial security systems also use the main Newton number to report emergencies. While they would eventually call 911 as a last resort, it would likely improve response time with the number rolling to 911.
After the change is made, someone calling the current Newton Police phone line will be answered by a 911 emergency dispatcher. Those calling with nonemergency issues will be given another number to reach the NPD.
“I think it’s something that is best for everyone involved,” Taylor said.
