911/Communications
The St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office operates 911 for the St. Martin Parish Communications District as well as departmental communications for the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office, the St. Martin Parish Fire District and the towns of Henderson and Parks. Established in January of 1991, the St. Martin Parish Communications District obtained all required information throughout the parish as well as the appropriate computer hardware and software necessary to bring the E911 system on-line.
In 2007, The St. Martin Parish Public Safety Complex was opened. It is centrally located in St. Martin Parish at 4870 Main Hwy between Parks and Breaux Bridge. Located inside of the Public Safety Complex is a state of the art Communications Center. The Communications Center operates 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. A Staff of 16 communications officers is employed to ensure efficient round the clock service to the residents of St. Martin Parish in their time of need. Communication personnel use a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system to generate incident reports, statistics, and keep an updated log on all units and their current status.
State of the art communications (Radio) equipment provides for reliable and efficient communications between all agencies and the Communications Center. Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) have been implemented in all units providing for a more efficient silent dispatch which reduces radio traffic and provides call status and related incident information to the Deputies as well as availability of units. Additionally, a 911 Digital Telephone Recording system was implemented providing recordings of all 911 telephone circuits.
Phase II 911 equipment was purchased and implemented in 2007 as well. Calls currently received into the St. Martin Parish Communications Center are able to provide GPS longitude and latitude coordinates from wireless callers. The GPS data received is integrated into a mapping system that projects the location of the caller onto a computerized map of the parish with location accuracy within 50ft.
The E911 Address Maintenance Clerk for the 911 Commission maintains an office at the St. Martin Parish Public Safety Complex. The clerk works daily to update vital address and phone number information essential to assisting communication officers and line personnel in the response to emergency situations. Our addressing methodology is quite simple, all roads and highways start with number 1000 and are numbered from North to South and from East to West. A new address number is assigned every 52.8 feet (1/100 of a mile). This allows wider plats of land along parish roadways to be divided and still be able to obtain a unique property address.
To obtain an address please contact the 911 Address Maintenance Clerk at the St. Martin Parish Public Safety Complex at (337) 394-2800.
The Executive Director reports quarterly to the 911 Commission Board meetings held at the St. Martin Parish Public Safety Complex and briefs the commission on monthly statistics. These meetings are public and in accordance with the laws and procedures thereof.
Association memberships include the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and the International Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO).
Employees within the 911 Communication have received specialized training in the following disciplines: Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International, Inc.: Communications Training Officer, InterAct: MIS Training (911 Equipment), PowerPhone, Federal Bureau of Investigations/Criminal Justice Information Services Division: Customized NCIC Training, First Responder Training/CPR Training, National Sheriff’s Association: Domestic Violence Training for Rural Communications Professionals (Dispatchers/Call Takers), Southwest Louisiana Crisis Intervention Team: CIT Training, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: Protecting Our Children, A Comprehensive Training Program for Law Enforcement, Emergency Management Institute/FEMA: Introduction to the Incident Command System, I-100 for Law Enforcement, Homeland Security for Telecommunicators, Center for Domestic Preparedness: Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Incident Command (COBRA – 24 hours), Pipeline Awareness and Education, Educational Communication Courses: Louisiana APCO/NENA Symposiums, The Global Institute for Law Enforcement Supervision: Improving Morale and Communication Seminar and Career Track: Dealing with Difficult People.
