Positron gives The Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office,
The Power to Respond™
Atlanta, Georgia, July 28, 2005

Barnstable County, which was established in 1685, sits on the southernmost tip of Massachusetts. The area stretches approximately 100 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean forming the Cape Cod peninsula. The southern beaches stretch to Nantucket Sound while the north side shore opens onto Massachusetts Bay.

Many of the local communities in Barnstable County have names familiar to all. The historic islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard lie to the east and southeast. Both offer a unique escape for people seeking a vacation away from the mainland in a quiet, sea-side setting. Centrally situated in the county, the Town of Barnstable has shorefront on both north and south coasts.

Barnstable County has a year-round population of about 250,000 people. When vacation season starts, the area plays host to a flood of tourists that can easily outnumber locals by two to one. This varied community means that local emergency response agencies need to be flexible enough to respond to a diverse set of needs quickly and efficiently.

In recent years, the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office started dispatching for an increasing number of agencies, in effect becoming a regional dispatch center. Unfortunately, getting the disparate systems to interface properly caused a problem for the Sheriff’s Office communications center staff. So in 2002, Peter Thomas, Director of the 9-1-1 communications center for the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office, decided that upgrading the center would yield efficiency and ease of use benefits for agencies and dispatchers alike.

“There were some things that we were really looking for, not just for today, but for the future,” said Mr. Thomas. “First, we wanted to have every possible piece of information available to us at our fingertips. Secondly, we needed something to help us handle mutual aid and all the agencies we dispatch for.”

When the dust settled, the BCSO selected Positron’s suite of emergency response, command and control and digital justice applications including Power CAD, Power MAP and Power RMS. “Positron’s systems do it better than the rest,” continued Mr. Thomas. “It really is a fully-integrated system that provides one-stop shopping for everything we need. We now have three big binders of information available on two computer screens. We really like knowing a complete history of a property before we dispatch to it.”

“From the time we cut over a year ago, we have grown into the system and we have seen the system grow with us,” commented Mr. Thomas. “One of the best things is how well Positron listens. We have seen some of our suggestions implemented into the software.”

Available to any PSAP regardless of call-handling solution, Power MAP not only provides full information about a wireline or wireless call, but when integrated with Positron's Power 911 IWS can also provide call control directly from the mapping application itself. This allows for quicker, easier call-handling for telecommunicators.

Since going live, “Power MAP has helped us significantly,” said Mr. Thomas. “We have come up with better ways to respond to emergencies.”

Positron is proud to have the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office in the family.