Central Dispatch Receives Visit from Indiana State Treasurer

Indiana State Treasurer Kelly Mitchell visits the Clinton County Central Dispatch Center as Director Renee Crick looks on. Mitchell is also the only treasurer in the country to chair a 911 board.
Central Dispatch Communications Officer Amanda Escareno works at her desk during a visit by State Treasurer Kelly Mitchell, who is also the only treasurer in the country to chair a 911 board.

The Clinton County Central Dispatch Center was the first stop Wednesday of a month-long tour by Indiana State Treasurer Kelly Mitchell, who is taking a tour of the top PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points) around the Hoosier state.

“We’ll do 25 PSAPs in 25 different counties,” said Mitchell, who is also the chair of the Statewide 911 Board. “They are the ones that have the highest use of text to 911 in the state.”

During its first year alone, 173,213 text sessions occurred to and from dispatchers. The Statewide 911 Board continues a public service campaign to inform residents of this service available to them.

Mitchell, who is the only treasurer in the country to chair a 911 board, talks about what she hopes to learn on this tour.

“We want to talk to counties that are high users of the text to 911 system,” said Mitchell. “We just passed our two year anniversary of the text to 911 being available in Indiana. We want to get an idea of how it is being used and hear some stories about how it’s being utilized.”

Clinton County Central Dispatch Director Renee Crick said they were excited to have Mitchell visit the facility.

“We were very honored to have her,” said Crick. “I had no idea that we were one of the top 25 PSAPs in the state to be utilizing the text to 911.”

Crick said she left her position at the Frankfort Police Department in February of 2010 to help oversee the construction of the dispatch center, which opened on January 3, 2011.

“It’s a state-of-the-art facility,” said Crick. “I’m very proud of it and I love to show it off. Most of all is our staff that we have. I have a very caring staff. They care about the community. They want to do a good job and they want to help people.”

The state 911 program office responsibilities are as follows:

  • Administers the collection and distribution of 911 funding assistance from the state to local level.
  • Oversees the operation of the statewide 911 network, which routes and delivers wireless 911 voice and text messages from the public to the local 911 authority.
  • Provides information about improvements in 911 service to the local 911 authorities.
  • Ensures that essential services are available on a statewide basis for things like 911 call transfer, language translation and that originating service providers (phone companies) have direct access to the statewide network.
  • Ensures that new technology is available and widely deployed to meet the public’s expectations — and to meet the individual needs for all residents and visitors to Indiana.

“It’s really a privilege and an honor to be chair of the 911 Board in Indiana,” said Mitchell. “The board is a 15-member board and they are active and involved. So, just getting to be a part of this process at all and having a role in Hoosiers’ public safety is just an honor.”

Mitchell added that she is “really looking to learn from the dispatchers and hear their stories.”

Crick added her department is the center of nearly everything that takes place in Frankfort and Clinton County.

“We are the hub of public safety,” said Crick. “Everything comes through us. Unfortunately, it can’t continue without us. It’s a big responsibility. We have such a good staff who is well trained to handle these emergencies.”