Former Chief Deputy Burnette honored
The Jones County Sheriff’s Office 911 Communications Center was dedicated last week to the woman whose vision made it possible.
The family of JCSO former Chief Deputy Barbara Burnette joined officers and staff members of the JCSO in dedicating the center April 21. The center dedication was done in conjunction with the dedication of the department’s memorial wall, with Burnette one of the five officers honored on that wall.
Chief Deputy Earl Humphries said Burnette started her law enforcement career as a dispatcher in what was then known as the radio room.
“She worked her way up to chief. Barbara worked for a short time as a patrol officer, but dispatch was her wheelhouse,” he said.
Jones County’s 2015 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds allotted the money for the creation of the current Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) 911 center.
“We went from a telephone system to a state-of-the-art communications center,” Humphries said. “This is all because of her foresight in serving the people of Jones County.”
The chief said it is amazing what the system will do. He said they are finishing up the global mapping system.
“The entire system has been customized to meet Jones County’s needs. Everything is updated and can be expanded,” he explained.
Humphries said the CAD system lets them know where deputies and rescue workers are so everyone can work together. He thanked the Jones County Board of Commissioners for their flexibility in the process.
He said the JCSO went about selecting vendors differently, at one point bringing them all in a room at the same time.
“We wanted turnkey equipment that would all work together,” the chief said.
Humphries said Jones County likes to think of itself as developing, but many areas of the county are still very rural.
“There are some places where cell service and internet are nonexistent. With the new systems, we can see where our officers are,” he said.
The chief said Southern Geographics in Gray assisted with working within the department’s budget for data conversion.
“When a 911 call comes in, it pops up on a screen and we are looking at the house,” he said.
Humphries said they are getting close to being on the new system for a year, and most of the bugs have been worked out.
“Everything is streamlined to give officers the information they need right in their vehicle. That includes information from the national database and JCSO local files,” he said.
The chief said the CAD system pulls information from everywhere.
“Not too long ago, we were handwriting reports. Now it’s al done from patrol cars,” he said.
Humphries said the system also moves between court systems digitally. He said there have been growing pains, but they are past that now.
“Our IT officers Tom Pahula, Ryan Johnson and Jason Douglas have been our interpreters,” he said.
