6 years, 6 months ago by Jim Dewey
Sheriff Gerry Dinwiddie says Ralls Co 911 Board is cutting back essential services
The Ralls County Sheriff's office and police departments in New London, Center and Perry, Missouri have moved their 911 services to Marion County, in a dispute with Ralls County 911.
Those agencies made the move Thursday. Late Thursday afternoon, Ralls County Sheriff Gerry Dinwiddie sent a press release spelling out the reasons for the move. Dinwiddie says the Sheriff's Office got a letter from the Ralls County 911 Board, saying that later this year, it was going to start implementing changes that would cut back on services to County law enforcement agencies. That includes an end to providing any type of Criminal History information and an end to entering, maintaining, and responding to inquiries about Warrants and Orders of Protection. Dinwiddie says that he and other members of the Office have been in talks with the Ralls County Commission about a possible move for several weeks, saying he thought they had made their case to the 911 Board. Instead "we received a registered letter denying us critical services." He adds that if Ralls 911 won’t process those records, the State requires another 24-hour station that will.
In the press release Ralls County Chief Deputy Ron Haught said "Among the changes listed in the “resolution” signed by 911 board Chairman Lowell Jackson and Executive Director Gabe Duncan, is an end to providing any type of Criminal History information and an end to entering, maintaining, and responding to inquiries about Warrants and Orders of Protection. Criminal History information is essential in determining what level of offense to charge someone newly arrested for certain crimes such as Driving While Intoxicated or Driving While Suspended/Revoked. The Prosecuting Attorney and Court System often rely on the information provided by a Criminal History in making their determination of charges and sentencing. Warrant and Order of Protection entry and maintenance ensure that local warrants and orders of protection are entered into the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System (MULES) which is used by agencies across the state and is linked to systems used by agencies across the country. Chief Deputy Ronald Haught said, “If a person is wanted for felony burglary, but our warrant is not entered into MULES, all that person has to do to avoid apprehension is avoid contact with our deputies. Even if the suspect encounters a law enforcement officer in a neighboring city or county, if the warrant isn’t in MULES, the guy’s going to come back clear instead of wanted; and they’re going to let him go.”
The release says that Marion County 911 has served as an operational backup to Ralls County, and was able to take on the additional workload on short notice.
