911 operators get perfect score with state auditors
911 Director Crystal Vincent shared some good news from her department in recent days.
A stop in from the state to audit records in past weeks ended with an evaluation that showed her employees are doing everything just right when it comes to providing officers with accurate information in the field, and using a statewide system responsibly.
Their use of the Georgia Crime Information Center’s statewide database earned 911 operators a 100 percent rating for the past year, Vincent said.
“I’m proud of them and the fact that we passed our audit with flying colors,” Vincent said.
That system, commonly referred to as GCIC, is one operators use daily as a valuable tool in public safety.
Say for instance when an officer calls in for more information during a traffic stop on the person they’ve pulled over, usually that request is made to the Georgia Crime Information Center’s database, or GCIC.
The system is a database kept by the state and utilized by public safety to be able to access records on vehicles or property reported stolen, the criminal records of those previously arrested and convicted of a crime, or warrants that may be out for someone’s arrest locally or elsewhere in the state.
It also ties into a national database of records kept by federal law enforcement, and those from other states.
So doing the hypothetical traffic stop, if a driver is pulled over for a busted tail light and 911 searches for the driver’s records and finds out they have a warrant out for their arrest in another state, it gives law enforcement the right to take that person into custody.
Use of the system in 2018 is all computerized, and information can be sent from 911 to officers out in the field via radio, or through the laptops officers have with them in their patrol cars if necessary.
The state also tracks how their system is used and annually Polk County’s 911 officials’ records are audited to ensure that they are utilizing it in a responsible manner.
“We’ve always done well, and we know that other agencies struggle with it,” she said.
She gave much of the credit for the county doing so well to the two Terminal Agency Coordinators, or TACs, Tandra Owens and Thomas Wilson for their dedication to ensuring the records had all their I’s dotted, and T’s crossed.
“We’re fortunate because we do have such great employees who are dedicated to keeping the records up,” Vincent said. “It’s a real job to keep all the paperwork in line.”