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Mayor: $35 million in investments, new technology will make Indy safer

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Mayor Joe Hogsett says new technology for the county’s public safety agencies will make Indianapolis safer. 

City leaders showed off new equipment Wednesday that comes from more than $35 million dollars in public safety investments.

The new tools include radios, a new radio network, and a new Motorola system that 911 dispatchers use to communicate with first responders.

“Our old CAD (computer aided dispatch system) was over 20 years old,” Lt. Col. Joseph McAtee of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said. 

McAtee oversees the county’s 911 operations. 

City leaders say the new CAD will help 911 dispatchers work faster as they take calls, enter information and dispatch officers. 

“That way I can free up my 911 operators to take 911 calls and hopefully that will help,” McAtee said. 

Robert Tori Gootee hopes so, too. 

They said they called 911 last month after a shooting victim came to their door looking for help. The couple said they were frustrated by the response time after they called 911, listened to an automated message, then got on the phone with a dispatcher. 

The man survived. Robert said police arrived about 15 minutes after he first called and emergency personnel showed up shortly after. 

“I saw that someone needed help and I just tried to do whatever I could to help him,” Robert said after the incident. 

Mayor Hogsett said the new CAD will also allow police, fire and EMS to see the status of other units, view videos and photos and create reports all from one interface, accessible from emergency vehicles.

“It will help our first responders see better,” Hogsett said. 

The CAD is in place and county agencies are connected to it. 

The new radios have been approved by the City County Council and the city says they’ll start using those radios early next year.