By Sara Strong
The Rock County Board of Commissioners approved a new emergency 911 routing system and reviewed other law enforcement issues at its Tuesday meeting.
As the county starts signing for rural addresses this spring, emergency dispatchers will also see changes.
The board approved going ahead with a new 911 system that includes the new addresses and a new system of notifying proper authorities of the emergency.
Cost to the county is about $13,000 and is borrowed against future state funds.
Rick Morrow of Independent Emergency Services outlined the plans. He's been familiar with Rock County's situation for a few years.
Rock County is one of just seven counties in the state that doesn't have a router-based 911 system or at the time of TuesdayÕs meeting, didnÕt have specific plans for one.
A router system means that a specific site routes 911 calls and keeps up with all data, such as new phone numbers or addresses. The routing system for Rock County would be out of Ruthton.
Morrow said the current system doesn't have a backup or redundant routing, and an in-house technical problem could impair dispatching. He also said that IES has a system that allows for staff to use computers at any location to run the system in the event that thereÕs problems at the headquarters.
By purchasing the IES system, Rock County's data will be continually updated. The IES team will continually work with the county as well.
Besides standard calls from home, the new system allows cell phone calls to be tracked. Morrow said, "We can know exactly where youÕre at on I-90. There's no spotting mile markers."
State Patrol connections are also a part of the package.
Investigation status
After public complaints about the Rock County Sheriff's Department and its work on some investigations, lawyers from the Rock County Attorney's Office updated the board on prosecutions.
Assistant County Attorney Terry Vajgrt said, "When it takes some time to solve crimes, it's frustrating for the victims and itÕs frustrating for us."
County Attorney Don Klosterbuer said that processing crimes through the courts, even when investigators are through, is a slow process.
"Many times an investigation is 90 percent complete and there's a missing piece out there," Klosterbuer said. So to victims, the crime seems solved, but evidence must hold up in court.
"We can't prosecute without the evidence," Klosterbuer said.
Once the Sheriff's Office collects the evidence, it's up to county attorneys to file a criminal complaint.
A specific case that's gotten a lot of attention in local conversations is shoplifting at Cenex Ampride. The store had shoplifters on tape, and word got out that nothing was being done with the evidence.
In fact, the tape was used, but the crime needed more attention because it may have been ongoing and involved more than those on the tape.
The criminal complaint was filed Dec. 14, and prosecution is under way.
The attorneys spoke to the board because board members became concerned about Sheriff's Department results when confronted with specific complaints by citizens.
Major crimes the attorneys want to prosecute are the Carrie Nelson murder and True Value arson.