Hello everyone and greetings from the men and women of the Beatrice Police Department. I would like to talk to you about our delivery of 911 services and how it affects all of us.
Beginning in 1994 all of the 911 services for Gage County were consolidated into one center which became a division of the Beatrice Police Department. By sharing resources with the Gage County Board, which funds dispatch services for the Sheriff's Office and all rural fire and rescue departments, and the City of Wymore which funds dispatch services for their Police Department and Fire and Rescue Departments, we were able to properly staff and equip our 911 Center. In 2015 the City of Crete approached us to provide dispatch services to them and the Southeast Nebraska 911 Center was established. The addition of Crete allowed us to improve staffing and resources in the Southeast Nebraska 911 Center, which benefits all of our users.
In 2021 we were approached by Richardson County to join the Center. We began providing dispatch services to the Richardson County Sheriff on August 1st and will be adding the rural Richardson County Fire and Rescue Agencies in the near future. All of these changes and additions allow us to provide the best possible 911 Service while sharing the costs among multiple entities.
It is our hope that other surrounding Counties will join the Southeast Nebraska 911 Center someday which will allow us to further reduce the costs for everyone. One thing we know for sure: when you call 911 you need help and you need it now, it is our job to make sure that happens. If you are having a medical incident our dispatchers are trained to provide medical assistance until help arrives. If you need law enforcement or firefighting units our state-of-the-art computer systems will ensure they are dispatched as quickly as possible. Technology in the communications world changes daily. By sharing our resources and expertise we can make sure that when you call 911 from an area served by the Southeast Nebraska 911 Center, you will receive the best service possible.
Thank you all for your support.
Bruce E. Lang
Chief of Police