The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office is working with the City of Perry to take over every 911 call beginning later this month 

Sheriff Adam Infante says that there will be two phases of transition which includes the county beginning to dispatch for the Perry Fire Department and Fire Responders on June 22nd at 10am. He explains then on June 29th at 10am, they will take over all the dispatch service for the Perry Police Department. Infante tells Raccoon Valley Radio that combining dispatch services will increase efficiency and reduce the burden to taxpayers by eliminating the duplication of services.

“We only get so much money from taxes to spend on public safety. When Dallas County has more than one dispatch center in the county, it takes those limited funds and divides them in half, essentially, if not in half. It takes some to go in each direction. So it just doesn’t make any financial or fiscal sense to have two different dispatch centers when one can do essentially the same thing.” 

Infante states that this change will promote officer safety by minimizing the number of radio channels that need to be scanned and then officers will be able to hear real time situations. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that the combination will also promote cooperation and help response time. 

“If I’m on the same channel with Perry as my deputies are, we’re hearing each other in real time. And when something happens, I just had that direction without having to be told. Whereas if we’re on a separate channel, they have to call us. Our dispatch has to answer that, then dispatch us and that eats up valuable time. This is an absolute win-win situation all the way around.”

The Perry Police Department’s non-emergency number will still be available for residents to call Monday through Friday from 7am until 3pm. The Emergency number-anywhere in Dallas County will remain as 911.

Non-Emergency numbers-Perry Police Department Monday-Friday 7:00AM to 3:00PM 515-465-4636. Dallas County Dispatch 24 hours a day 515-993-4567