A street with storefronts and parked vehicles in Roswell. File photo. — Roswell, Georgia. File photo from the North Atlanta Star archive.

Roswell will replace its aging police dispatch and records system in a $2 million project after officers warned that recurring outages were interfering with emergency operations.

The City Council approved a $1 million federal grant Oct. 26, with Roswell contributing another $1 million. The city’s share is available in its capital projects fund.

The replacement covers the Police Department’s computer-aided dispatch and records management system, often shortened to CAD/RMS. It is the technology used to help coordinate responses and manage the information connected with police work.

Outages and limited support

Roswell Police Maj. Noah Caplan said the existing system had suffered frequent outages and years of inadequate support from its vendor. Those shortcomings affect response times and increase operational risks, he told council.

“We’ve experienced frequent outages,” Caplan said, as reported by WSB Radio.

The effects can extend beyond Roswell when neighboring agencies work together on emergencies. Caplan’s presentation to council identified coordination with mutual-aid partners as one reason to replace the system.

What the replacement is intended to do

The new technology is intended to improve real-time information sharing and bring voice, text and video capabilities into a more integrated system. Police also expect it to make records management and coordination between dispatchers and field responders more efficient.

Those are the goals of the project; the funding vote does not mean the replacement is already operating. City officials have not announced when installation will begin or when the new system will go live.

The investment follows the opening of Roswell’s new E-911 center earlier this year. This next step addresses the dispatch and records technology that emergency personnel rely on inside the operation.