Mobile County improves public safety with mobile PSAP

Coastal city with unique needs

Mobile County in south Alabama has unique needs when it comes to public safety. Home to more than 412,000 residents, during the annual Mardi Gras celebration an estimated 1.2 million people attend festivities in a small, dense area in the city of Mobile. It’s also a coastal county and home to Dauphin Island and the Port of Mobile, with hundreds of thousands of beachgoers and cruise ship passengers as well as seasonal hurricane threats.

The Mobile County Communications District (MCCD) handles about 350,000 calls every year across 15 partner agencies in the area. It also provides mutual dispatch aid to neighboring counties and smaller regional dispatch centers when needed.

Transforming dispatch operations

To ensure timely emergency assistance and 911 service continuity during large population swells and natural disasters, the MCCD, a longtime Hexagon customer, launched its Mobile Command Unit, which contains a public safety answering point (PSAP) and supporting emergency response technologies.

Powered by Hexagon’s computer-aided dispatch (CAD) solution, MCCD’s mobile unit first rolled in August 2020, enabling MCCD to transform its operations to meet the needs of any situation. In addition to having the CAD system onboard, the unit has P25 radio, multiple satellite connections and allows for internet connectivity. The unit is a standalone, self-contained PSAP fully integrated with all of the MCCD’s public safety software systems, so it can be used independently or as another seat for the main dispatch center.