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SPENCER – By July 1, 2025, Spencer’s police department expects to have a computer-aided dispatch and records management software system in place that will streamline operations and allow officers to communicate “computer to computer, car to car,” according to the police chief.
The first step was taken last month when the Board of Selectmen approved an agreement with Central Square for $153,093 to build the servers based on the needs of the department including the dispatchers.
The allocation was originally approved in May 2023 by Town Meeting.
The annual subscription fee going forward will be $53,006.
Police Chief Michael Befford said it will replace the current software from 1994, which served its purpose but is no longer viable.
“This will bring us to the future and get us a system for another 30 years,” he said.
He used the First Congregational Church of Spencer fire as an example when this system would have been helpful at the chaotic scene.
Instead of six people talking on radios, Chief Befford said, as personnel came to the site, they could go to the computer screen to indicate their arrivals and that information would be recorded and transmitted back to the dispatcher.
Because the system interacts with the fire department, he noted, when they get a call, that information also loads into software for their record keeping and reporting purposes.
Chief Befford told selectmen that fire personnel currently writes reports, walks across the parking lot (to the police department), gets them printed and then returns to the station.
“Now, we’ll be able to share information easier,” he said. “This is something we can use every minute of the day.”
Police departments in Leicester, Sturbridge, Charlton, New Braintree and the state police have upgraded to the newer software as well, he added.
“For once, Spencer is going to be ahead of the curve and people will be catching up to us– which is good to know,” Chief Befford said.
Selectman Ralph Hicks noted that the CAD system “will get us out of the 19th century into the 21st century… when it comes to the police and fire departments. Something like this is long overdue.”
He added, “Public safety is the number one priority in this town.”
Chief Befford said on June 4 that the upgrade is in the “building phase,” expected to take a year to complete.
He said the department is excited about the project because it will result in “an updated system, better organization and a reduction of workload on dispatchers especially in busy incidents.”
