Metro: New 911 dispatch center will serve as backup

A second 911 dispatch center could be ready by spring, Las Vegas police said Monday during a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Committee on Fiscal Affairs.

Metro began to switch to a new dispatch system after a complete crash of the department's emergency system on June 28, when over 400 people who dialed 911 were met with a busy signal. The failure, which started at about 10 p.m., lasted just over six hours.

The second location will serve as a backup in case a problem occurs with the main communication center.

Metro's fiscal affairs committee had approved the purchase of a $2.3 million, Internet-based system from Airbus DS Communications, earlier in June. The new system allows police to gather more information from 911 callers and also send out information. It can determine a caller's location and send out text alerts.

A construction project to update the county's current emergency dispatch center was expected to last through December, but Metro needed it done by the end of October. That modification led to large cost overruns, Metro's director of radio systems, Michael Barnbeck, said during the meeting.

"Airbus was an exceptional partner in this," Barnbeck said. "They didn't nickel-and-dime us."

The fiscal affairs committee approved $70,000 for a continuation of the dispatch system's upgrade. Airbus absorbed $180,000 in associated costs, Barnbeck said.

There was no word at the meeting as to where the secondary communications center would be located.

"Right now, it's actually contingent on some contract negotiations," Barnbeck said.

In another matter, the committee approved an $85,000 settlement payment to Danny Romero, who claimed he was injured by tight handcuffs in December 2014. Police provided no other details.

Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Find him on Twitter: @WesJuhl